#one of my old Starbucks employees was so happy to hear from me after i got fired

[fagcrush]

If these fuckheads weren't so disgusting I'd feel bad for the day one of the falls victim to the shit system (or their own weird gross behavior on the clock but ya know)

[hansolmates]

jjk; off-league

summary; you decide to do a little boudoir photoshoot for yourself—a little sexy lingerie, some bunny ears, maybe even a little nudity to make you feel more body positive about yourself. that little photoshoot doesn’t end up being for yourself anymore when you accidentally send those sexy pictures to your stupidly hot, stupidly talented childhood friend who you haven’t spoken to since middle school graduation.  pairing; photographer!jk x fem!reader genre/warnings; childhood friends to lovers!au, flangst, mutual pining, feelings of insecurity and body image, suggestive language, nudity  w.c; 6.2k a/n: i was feeling a lil meh about this fic after finishing it but a month later it finally makes its debut! for @btsghostiewritersnet​ BGW Bingo Bash! today’s trope is “childhood friends to lovers” which surprisingly isn’t a favorite of mine so it was definitely a challenge to write! 

“C’mon, I need your opinion. Deadass. Don’t just say shit to make me feel better.” 

“Gimmie those nudes, baby girl,” Johnny makes an impeccable fuckboy impersonation, making you feel a little squirmy to your stomach. 

It’s an hour away from being the ass-crack’o-dawn and your impromptu pin-up photoshoot just needs the sexy-star-of-approval from your best friend. Johnny Suh is also up for reasons unmentioned, but you had a feeling his pretty boyfriend is fifty percent of the reason. 

You look at yourself in the mirror, smoothing your frame against the black bodice of the sheer teddy. The only parts that are fully concealed are the parts that don’t matter. The sheer bodice reveals your pert nipples concealed by a thin black mesh, coupled with the deep V in the sweetheart neckline, accented by a little black bow in the dive of your highlighted cleavage. The silky a-line raceways to a set of black garters hugging your thighs, barely hanging onto a pair of lace thigh-highs. 

It doesn’t leave you butt naked, but enough to make you feel confident about yourself. These pictures are for you, and Johnny. And Johnny’s boyfriend if he’s being nosy. 

You tug off the silk bunny ears from your head, flinging it somewhere in your room. The wire started to dig in your brain, giving you a major headache. 

“Sending them now,” you hang up and start compiling the pictures in a folder on Google Drive. Once that’s done you copy the shareable link, sending it to Johnny’s number. It happens all so fast, and you feel kind of giddy. As you were posing for the camera, taking your time to find all the right angles, you felt good, you felt sexy in your little get up. Channeling your inner Ariana Grande was one of your childhood dreams, your fifteen year old self would be proud. 

Five minutes pass, fifteen, and by the twenty-five minute mark you’re pissed. What’s taking Johnny so long? 

Makeup scrubbed clean and face bare, you shuffle in your duvet, far too tired to be waiting up this long. Punching in his number once more, you cry, “Hey! Why haven’t you looked at them yet?” 

“What?” your friend’s voice sounds pebbly through the line. Was Johnny sleeping? “You never sent them!” he whines tiredly. 

“No, I definitely sent them!” you pull the phone away and keep Johnny on call, ready to prove him wrong. 

But to your surprise, the last message you sent to Johnny was this afternoon. 

The most recent message is to a person named John Kook. 

You scream. 

Johnny screams back at you with an equal amount of force, “What the fuck? Did someone break in? Are you being mobbed? See, this is why I wanted to put the baby monitor in your room—” 

“Worse!” you’re well prepared for any break in, but not for this. “I sent my pics to the wrong John!” 

“Well… is he at least cute?” 

“I mean, in the fourth grade he looked pretty cute with that front tooth missing,” you find your output of frustration, your bunny plush, pulling it by the ear and hitting it against the bed. “His name isn’t even John! It was just his English name for a silly project we did in middle school. This is so embarrassing, all I can picture is a twelve-year-old Jungkook mortified from sexual harassment. I basically sent him nudes!” 

“Tasteful nudes.” 

“I’m gonna die.” 

“He’s gonna die, of happiness.” 

Jeon Jungkook was a classmate from elementary through middle school. Time and time again was he the object of your affections, from the first grade at the roller rink to the speech he made at graduation. But really, who cares? You’re old and have a job, and it’s not like you’ve communicated with any of your former classmates. 

Your horror amplifies when the Delivered receipt is changed to Read 3:41AM. 

“Fuck! Fuck me with a fuckin’ fuck nugget he saw it!” you cry, “does he still have my number? What if he deleted my contact, would that be even weirder?” 

“Girl, stop.” Johnny sighs, and you can already picture him running his thumb between his brows. “This doesn’t change anything, alright? You two don’t know each other anymore. Block his number and go to sleep.” 

Johnny leaves you alone after that, and you’re left alone to mull over the implications of sending Jeon Jungkook your nude photoshoot. 

You do block his number, knowing that waiting for a reply would drive you nuts. The one thing that you do which is possibly worse, is look him up on Instagram. 

Of course, he’s stupid hot. 

He doesn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of the camera however, in favor of his timeline being filled with romantic shots of the beach and city. In between the picturesque views and watercolor sunsets do you see glimpses of him and his current life. You can’t help but smile when you see him with his brother and parents during his college graduation, easily towering over all of them. He looks tall with fluffy cocoa hair, big pearly whites gleaming proudly at the camera. He grew up well. 

To torture yourself even more, you even look through his story. Twelve hours ago, he was at the gym lifting weights. Normally, you’d be disgusted by people trying to show off their grunt faces drenched in sweat, but of course Jungkook has to have on a silly smile and pump his fist up after he deadlifts. The sweat clinging to his shirt is also a high plus. His gorgeous display of abs has your hands fluttering over your own belly. Maybe you need to exercise more. 

Four hours ago, you see him and a pretty woman with their cheeks squished together, using the puppy filter. Of course he has a girlfriend. 

Reluctant, you open up your Google Drive and scroll through your photoshoot. Deflated, you frown at the pictures that once made you beam with pride, picking at every little detail that bothered you. You really can’t believe you sent these to Jeon Jungkook, no longer a fourth grader with one front tooth, but a man way out of your league. 

By the time you will yourself to sleep, the sun peeks from the horizon, telling you to move on. 

“Hey Gyu,” you tiptoe over to the table much too small for Mingyu’s frame. The string bean is slumped over his iPad pro, drawing intently at some chibi OCs. “Got a plot for that one?” you ask, pointing at the little pink and blue creature decorating the screen. 

Mingyu grunts in reply, obviously engrossed. It isn’t until you slide him a matcha frappe from Starbucks that he becomes intelligible, muttering a “thank you” as he blends with his pen. 

Sensing that it’s going to be awhile before you get through to him, you take your usual rounds around the front desk and lobby of the cosy photo studio. There’s pretty pictures of Mingyu’s work, along with the other employees Minghao and Hoseok. Each section of the wall features a different taste of each person’s interest. Mingyu is a divine lover of soft bed sheets and hot tea, many of his photographs and paintings featuring cafes or perfectly messy beds you’ve seen on hotel advertisements. Minghao is a tasteful artisan, splotches of color retaliating against neutral backgrounds. Finally, Hoseok manages to find balance in the people, large cityscapes telling both large and small stories.

“Alright,” Mingyu’s deep voice forces you to curl your head, where he’s sipping at his drink with haste. “What’cha here for?” 

You frown, “Don’t you remember? I told you last week I’d be stopping by to get my photos developed,” you gesture to the Pentax in your hands, an heirloom from your great-aunt. While you did take digital photos for sending them to Johnny, the ones you wanted developed were taken side-by-side with the film camera. You figured that film would give a little more authenticity to your photoshoot. 

“Shit, that’s today?” the camera falls like deadweight, slapping against your sweater as you watch Mingyu frantically look through his digital calendar. He looks at you, dejected. “How many prints?” 

“I don’t know, maybe like six. Or eight?” 

“That’s gonna take too long, I’m heading down to Hidden Grounds for a vision meeting at two.” 

“Alright, I’m free all day. What about after?”

“Nah, you came all this way. I can just let the new guy help you.” and Mingyu makes a show of cupping his hands in the direction of the open hallway, “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! Get your cute ass out here!” 

The Pentax around your neck suddenly feels like weight akin to a two-ton boulder, and you surge forward, not caring that the corner of the table is digging into your belly. “Mingyu,” you garble, and Mingyu is shell-shocked by the desperation in your eyes. “Isn’t Minghao around or something? Or I can come back another time? These photos are really personal and I don’t feel comfortable having a stranger see them.”

“What? We’re professionals, don’t belittle us.” 

“No, seriously,” you whine, you tug at the collar of his denim jacket, noses practically touching. “These pictures are different. My tits are out and my legs are spread—”

“—interrupting something?” 

You hear some shuffling, and you turn around to see Jeon Jungkook’s back, comically turned to face the entrance. 

And damn, he did have a cute ass. Nothing is going to hide the glory in those jeans, absolutely nothing. 

“Hilarious,” Mingyu drawls, and you push him away. “Forget it, Kook. She doesn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger develop her photos.” 

Sensing that it’s safe to turn around, you watch as his black bangs flutter as he faces you. You hope your body language doesn’t betray how you’re really feeling, because you are a mere mortal and you’re weak in the presence of god-like figures. 

“Oh, what a relief then,” he smiles at you, and his voice sounds like honey. If there was malice or surprise in his tone, his good-natured expression betrays it. “Because I’ve known this friend since elementary school. We go way back.” 

You ignore the burn in the back of your head, as you are positive Mingyu knows you’re hiding something. 

“Really, what a coincidence.” Mingyu replies carefully, and you feel utterly stuck between these men and their banter, locked up like cream in an Oreo cookie. 

Nothing argues against Jungkook as he easily weaves through the thick wave of awkwardness, hands reaching out to touch your camera. “Wow,” he marvels, holding the object in his hands, “my dad has one of these.” 

“A-ha,” you take a step back, only to bump into the corner of the table, again. Ouch. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m actually busy today so I can come when Mingyu’s free–”

“Oh, I thought you were free all day,” Mingyu drawls, looking up through his lashes as he sips languidly at his drink. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says good-naturedly, as if Mingyu just didn’t out you. “We got a lot of catching up to do anyway, c’mon.” 

Jungkook moves to place a hand in the small of your back and that’s enough to get you to rev up. Refusing to let any contact get between the two of you, you zip ahead down the familiar hallway, turning your head to catch Mingyu grinning with all canines, shooing you with his fingers like a puppy. 

You send Mingyu a stream of “fuck yous” into his inbox for later, unwilling to settle with this curse. Busying yourself with your phone, you avoid eye contact with Jungkook until you reach the dark room. The red light turned off at the top of the doorhenge signals that the room is not in use. Jungkook makes a move to open the door and that’s when you pounce, blocking the doorway with your small body. It’s comical, really. 

Jungkook raises a brow at you, but says nothing. 

“I really can wait, Jungkook,” you steel yourself, forcing a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you developing my pictures—”

It’s then that his pretty cupid’s bow unfurls into a full-fledged grin. “Girlfriend... you’ve been keeping tabs on me?” 

“Fuck, well I had to!” your face is as red as the dark room’s alert light, now on because Jungkook flicked the switch and he’s between your arm to unlock the door. Your hand brushes his as you both reach the knob. “I’m really really sorry I sent those pictures. They were for Johnny—you remember Johnny Suh from English class? And I saved you in my contacts as “John Kook” so it was an honest mess up.” 

Jungkook hums, so light that the breathiness in his chords flutters your grip on the knob. He forces the door ajar, and you’re left to follow him in the dark room, cluttered with solutions and fancy equipment. 

“Thought so,” Jungkook shrugged, giving a one-over at the materials in the room, mulling over his next steps in developing your film. 

You’re still petrified at the doorway, holding your Pentax between both hands like a lifeline. Jungkook’s head lols to you, and you get a pretty view of the way his bangs brush over his forehead, Adam’s Apple bobbing. His expression is a little tired, but overall unreadable. He sighs your name, lethargic. 

“We’re already here, so might as well get this done,” he gestures to the camera in your vice grip. “Do you wanna pick the shots or do you want me to?” 

He’s already seen the digitals, what’s so different about getting a couple prints? With a slight pout you drag your feet over to him, relinquishing your camera. “I’m thinking you have a better eye for this than I do.” 

“You think right.” 

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Cocky, but what you’ve seen on Instagram definitely justifies his sentiment. Jungkook pays no mind to you, busying his hands with the various containers in front of him, measuring the solutions for the developer, stopper, and fixer. You were always entranced by the process of developing film, especially in highschool where their photography club holed themselves in the darkroom like a secret lair. 

“Alright,” he pops open the canister, carefully laying out sections of the film in groups of four. “Want me to pick a random one for a tester?” 

You frown, “At least put some thought into it.” 

“Always,” it looks like he already decided way before he popped the question, immediately taking a negative and placing it in the carrier. 

His fingers are nimble as he takes the time to clean off the dust and any debris that could potentially ruin the image. Then he turns off the lights and begins the process. You dive around him, trying to keep your distance but still too curious to leave his side. If he’s annoyed he fails to show it, in favor of humming whatever song comes from his Echo Dot. 

You always got the solos in choir. You wanted to reminisce, but you’re too nervous to say it out loud. 

Even though it’s his job and he’s being a professional, you romanticize the experience, watching as he carefully puts the print in each liquid process. Your image blooms to life, and you feel your stomach churn as the photo develops before your eyes. 

After a final dip in the solution stopper, he places the first product in a bath of water. Even though you are mere centimeters away, you can clearly see the image of you swimming around the container. 

“Alright!” Jungkook hangs the finished picture on a pastel pink clothespin, tacking it in place. “Whaddya think?” 

Your breath catches in your throat, feeling heavy as you look at the image of you reflected in the glossy paper. You’re perched on your bed, a hand splaying between your legs as the other hand toys with the silk bunny ears. You’re leaned slightly, giving an ample view of your cleavage. However, the image of you is definitely different from being blown up in comparison to the negatives, and you squirm uncomfortably at your full display. 

“I look,” you bite your tongue, internally debating whether you like it or not. Not to spare Jungkook the theatrics you shrug, “It’s good.”  

The lack of enthusiasm seems to dissatisfy Jungkook however, as he has to take a double take and look back and forth between the image and the real thing. “What’s wrong with it, do you think Johnny’ll not like it?” 

“What?” you furrow your brows, breaking into a nervous laugh. “Johnny has a boyfriend. I just wanted his opinion. This photoshoot is for me, y’know? Just something to make me feel good about myself.” 

Jungkook’s lips morph into a little ‘o’, and you see a little bit of the child you once knew in the way he’s mulling over the situation. 

“Then can I give you my honest opinion?” Jungkook clips off the half-dried photo, holding it between you two. “Stop thinking so hard about every little thing you don’t like about yourself. If I was your boyfriend and you gifted this to me, I’d be creaming my pants. You look fucking sexy, all grown up since you cried in the fourth grade.” 

You’ve just been flung a litany of words you have no brain capacity to digest. Along with that, the immense heat you didn’t know you’ve been suppressing surges to your belly, low and simmering. Jungkook stares at you in earnest, despite his sudden gush of honesty, you don’t know what to say. There’s a dash of pink staining his cheeks, betraying the confidence he previously displayed. He stiffens when you don’t reply immediately and moves to clean his materials, his sudden bout of bold honesty quickly shrinking. 

“Y-you know,” you look down at your feet, “the only reason why I cried in the fourth grade was because you told me Santa wasn’t real.” 

Jungkook softens, tilting his head. “Sorry about that.” 

“Thanks though,” you gently reach for the photo in Jungkook’s grasp, looking at it without contempt. “But won’t your girlfriend be upset if she knew you were saying things like this about someone else?” 

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, if you looked through the rest of my Instagram story,” Jungkooks cards a hand through his already mussed hair, splitting the ends. “You would see that she’s not my girlfriend, but my tattoo artist.” 

For added measure, he wiggles his fingers in front of you, revealing pretty ink and silver bands across his knuckles.

“Oh,” your voice is feather light, and you’re sure you’re drooling as you stare far too long at the letters that mark his hands, curious as to what they symbolize. 

“So, as a singleton telling another singleton,” he continues, “I know it’s meaningless if you don’t believe it yourself, but I’m telling you, you’re attractive.” 

“Thanks,” you hold the picture tightly in your grasp, eyes flickering to the negatives in the room ready to be galvanized into a full-fledged picture. “Why don’t we wrap this up, huh? We can continue another time.” 

If he notices how much the paper wilts in your grasp, he doesn’t comment on it. “Are you sure? I know it takes a lot of time, but I don’t mind.” 

“I’m sure,” you force a smile, one hand on the lightswitch. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?” 

Jungkook swallows, nodding mechanically. “Okay.” 

“It was really nice seeing you, Kook.” you blurt before you could chicken out, letting the room bask in darkness a little longer so he can’t see your flustered state. “I’m not even going to downplay it, you look great.” 

You half-expect a cocky remark, or a little chest pumping from the compliment. At the sound of his nickname however, 4th grade Jeon Jungkook resurfaces and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Like I said, so do you,” he replies easily, sending you a soft smile and opening the door for you. 

The door closes shut behind you and you exhale, patting your cheeks and willing for the chilly air to calm you down. 

When you get home that day, you shuck off all your clothes and crawl into bed. You cry out when the metal framing of your bunny ears stabs you in the back, and you fling it to some unmentionable part of the room. You reach for a bag of half-opened sour gummy worms, flipping open your MacBook to continue streaming the soft magical girl anime you’ve been hooked on these past few weeks. 

Not even Sailor Uranus can distract you; however, by the time it’s dark and you’ve run out of distractions, you finally pull the plug and unblock Jungkook from your list of contacts. 

Your phone buzzes, the incessant vibration relaying all the messages you’ve missed. 

[March 12th, 3:53AM]

You: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0343…

John Kook: ??? 

John Kook: you probably sent this to me by accident… sorry i clicked on it

John Kook: is it weird if i said you’ve done a massive glow up since the middle school dance?

[March 12th, 12:02 PM]

John Kook: are u mad

John Kook: you’re mad

John Kook: am i makin this weird by continuing to text you

John Kook: im making it weird. 

[March 31st, 6:24 PM]

John Kook: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/049…

You tilt your head at the folder link, it was sent only a few hours ago. With a click, you’re enlightened to a set of digital photos. Your photos from your photoshoot, but not quite. They’ve been expertly edited, not too much to distort your looks, but only to enhance your features. A small, barely there smile creeps from your subconscious, ultimately touched by the gesture. 

John Kook: sorry if i pushed too hard today. 

Guilt overrides your nerves, prompting you to immediately press the call button on his contact. Not to your surprise, Jungkook’s light voice calls your name through the line after the second ring. 

“Don’t be sorry,” you blurt, forgoing the hellos. “It was the right amount of push, I feel better, really. If anything, I’m sorry. I blocked your number because I was scared to read your reaction.” 

You hear him sigh along the line, and you feel that breath ripple through your nerves, as if he’s right next to you. “It’s fine, I would’ve done the same thing.” 

“The pictures you just sent, they’re really beautiful. You did a good job.” 

“Thanks, I had a bit of help. I didn’t have to do much.” 

“Oh, did Mingyu come back from his meeting?” 

"No, I uh," Jungkook chuckles, and while you don't really know why, the sound is nonetheless pleasant. “It was mostly the lighting and coloring I fixed up. Didn’t need to do much since you already looked so pretty as it is.” 

You choke on your saliva. 

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you cough, “just choked on a snack I was eating.” he hums in reply, and you pray he doesn’t hear your stomach fervently retort that you haven’t eaten since lunch. “So, I think I’m up for developing more of the film. When can I drop by?” 

“I’m free Saturday,” Jungkook chirps, “I have a shoot until noon but you can come anytime after that.” 

“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” you clutch the phone with both hands. “I can bring lunch. What do you like to eat?” 

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I’m already buying for Minghao,” you lie, “do you like burgers?” 

“I can’t say no to a good burger,” Jungkook’s smile feels almost palpable against the line, “do you remember our field trip to the national museum of history? We had burgers on the street!” 

“Oh, those were so good,” you moan, fuzzy memories of a middle grade field trip resurfacing to clarity, “but you ate like, ten of them!”

“I still get nightmares,” he warns, “don’t let me go to bed like this.” 

You giggle, letting your body meld further into your warm mattress. “Maybe I’ll just show up with ten burgers for you tomorrow.” 

“I’ll throw up on you, try me.” 

Minghao’s adjusting the frames on their display wall by the centimeter, and it’s pissing him off. 

“Ah, it’s off,” he mutters to himself when you walk in, indicated by the electronic bell. He turns to you briefly, pulling a leveler out of his overall pocket. “Doesn’t this look off?” 

“Uh,” you look towards Mingyu at the front desk, who is paying no mind as he continues scribbling on his iPad. You tilt your head towards your former college classmate. “It doesn’t look off from over here?” 

Tacking the leveler on one of the frames, he whines, “It’s five degrees off.” 

Mingyu puts his pen down to reach over the counter and grab the paper from your hands, steaming with the scent of fast food, “He’s been like this for hours, don’t mind him.” 

He doesn’t even ask whether the food is his, Mingyu sees grease and he claims. Reaching for an oil-wrapped parchment, he unfolds the paper to reveal a handsome burger with all the fix-ens. 

Barely satisfied, Minghao steps away from the art display. There is a sizable gap in the display, now divided between four artists instead of three. You wonder how Jungkook’s work will look amongst the other artists. 

“Cute ‘fit.” Minghao mumbles, nodding approvingly at your clothes as he digs into the bag for his own burger. 

You send a half-smile his way. If an outfit is Minghao-approved, that means you’ve gone above and beyond. At least, you tried to play it off like you didn’t try to look cute. It’s not like you’re intimidated by Jungkook, living with a major fifteen-year glow up. After all, he’s already seen more than you can imagine. 

Mingyu takes notice, eyes going south to where your white blouse meets your cleavage. You hurl a fry at his face, “Eyes up here, perv.” 

He scrunches his nose, lifting a greasy thumb to slide a manila envelope over to you. “Here’s the developed pictures. Intercepted Kook and I finished them this morning.” 

You frown, “Jungkook’s not done with his photoshoot yet?” 

“Oh, he’s been done.” Mingyu’s eyes roll back to one of the studios. “But I’m saying is, you got what you needed. So you can leave if you want,” but he grins at you, canines so sharp you feel his stare jabbing you in the proverbial neck. “Unlesssss you want to go in and say hi.” 

If he has any inkling of what’s going on in your head, it’s definitely confirmed when your face turns hot. Damn body, you’re betraying me! With a flourish you grab the fries from under Mingyu’s nose, along with whatever’s left in the fast food bag. 

Minghao’s smiling through his burger, knowing if he pulls any type of savagery his lunch would certainly be pulled from under his chin. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, drop it or the burger will be going in your ass instead of out.” You mean to sound menacing, but the Min-squared and their boisterous laughter follow you down the hallway and into the occupied studio. 

“Hey Jungkoo—wow.”

You’re sure you look like Alice, enthralled by the little wonderland she just stepped into. The set is beautiful, right out of a fairytale. It has a very old-romance vibe, like Morticia and Gomez Addams. There lay a couch made of the darkest, richest wood, with velvet red cushions covering the body. Across the floor laid hundreds of black rose petals, blanketing the floor in a sea of ebony. 

“It’s for a wedding, gothic themed.” Jungkook supplies helpfully, still fiddling with whatever he was looking on his digital camera. He’s looking utterly soft in a matching grey sweat combination, something that would easily disgust you during high school, but unfairly works with him. 

“The shoot must’ve been beautiful.” 

“It was.” 

“I uh, got this for you.” Your fingers start to sweat from clutching the bag so hard, and you place it on his work table. 

He finally looks up from his camera, giving you a wan smile. “I thought you got those for Minghao.” 

You mentally slap your cheeks, trying to ignore the way his smile made your stomach do somersaults. “He got his own. Your portion has a cookie in it, so.” 

His cute teeth unveil themselves at the mention of sweets, and you can’t help but smile back at the familiarity. 

The two of you take your time in enjoying your lunch, not meaning to stay but the very back of your mind hoping he’d like to share a meal with you. After all, Mingyu and Minghao are probably at the front relishing in your very obvious attraction. What can you say, first crushes never die. 

Between sips of your milkshake, you’ve taken to flipping through Jungkook’s portfolio. There’s a myriad of different subjects: beaches, people, the occasional squirrel. Each section of the portfolio feels like you’re being transported to a new side of Jungkook and his artistry, and you ached to know more. 

“Wow,” you point at an action shot of two girls in a dance studio, “this duo looks like Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 

He swallows his (second) burger, having the audacity to sink sheepishly in his sweater. “It is Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 

You nearly choke on your cookie. “That’s amazing.” you say breathlessly, looking closer at the image. In fact, the beautiful women photographed are famed hip-hop choreographers Chungha and Hyoyeon. You can’t imagine how good Jungkook must be to manage a photoshoot with them. 

As proud as you are of Jungkook, it reminds you that since middle school you two have lived completely different lives. You wonder if Jungkook gets these kinds of gigs all the time, hanging around with gorgeous, talented people like himself.

Jungkook says your name once, twice. He looks at you concerned, and you’re melting in his large carmine eyes. If he notices your usual overthinking, he doesn’t say anything, and gestures to the section at the end of his portfolio. “This isn’t my best work, but it’s one of my favorites.” 

There’s something familiar about this set. A playground with a busted swing set. Children riding on bikes and colorful class shirts. Ice cream melting on fists. 

Thirteen-year-old you hanging on top of your middle school’s leafless tree, clutching your baseball cap as you shade yourself from the sunset. 

“Was this the first time you took pictures?” you ask, thumbing the picture of yourself. 

“Yeah. It’s when I decided it’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.” 

“I know we didn’t know each other that well and we’ve only recently connected but,” you give him a shy smile, “I’m really proud of what you’ve grown up to be, Jungkook.” 

He looks like you’ve hung him the moon and stars, his half-eaten burger loosening in his grasp. His lips are parted cutely, like a kitten who’s just been offered a fresh glass of milk. You cough at the sudden pause in conversation, feeling self-conscious of your impulse confession. You don’t even have it in you to be disgusted when Jungkook hastily shoves the second half of his burger down his throat, tips of his ears pink. 

Leaving him be, you press a palm to your cheek, looking at the wedding set. 

Jungkook downs half a water bottle before he speaks again. “Y’know, it would be a shame to clean up this set already. It was kind of expensive.” 

“Yeah,” you echo, standing up and kicking off your slippers. You kick your feet in the air, watching the black petals kiss across your ankles.

“I have an idea,” he wipes his hands on his sweats, “why don’t you go back home and get an outfit you really like. Lingerie, a cute outfit, whatever. Let me give you a photoshoot you’d love.” 

You look up from your petal dance, balking. “Jungkook! That’s not necessary, I told you the photos I took were okay.” 

“Yeah but, you didn’t seem entirely happy. C’mon, I got a camera and a beautiful set. Why waste it?” his hands naturally gravitate towards his charging camera, already turning it on. “I can do lighting, I know all your good angles. What’s stopping us?” 

Really, what’s stopping you? Your hands fiddle with your open flannel, the soft material comforting you as you look across the set. You try to imagine yourself, your body draped across the velvet pillows and black petals. Would it look good? Would you feel good? You think back to how you felt the first time, how scared you were when someone other than Johnny would be looking at your photos. You remember how something weird and sour contorted in your stomach when you scrolled through Jeon Jungkook’s Instagram, no longer the little boy you knew but a man who could have everything he wanted—

“Stop thinking about it.” Jungkook suddenly snaps, and you break from your reverie to catch him looking upset. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen him like that. 

“Thinking about what?”

“Thinking that you’re out of my league.”

“Excuse me?” 

“You were like this the other day too,” and he looks sad, and puts his camera down to come closer to you. “Why are you feeling this way. Is it me?” 

“Not necessarily,” you huff, hugging yourself.

“Do you not feel beautiful? Do you not like your body?” 

“No, I do.” you say to yourself, and you mean it. Even though there will inevitably be days where you may not feel one-hundred percent positive about yourself, you know at the end of the day, you love you and all its parts. “I don’t know, Jungkook. I had no problem letting Mingyu develop the photos originally, because he knew me in college and I was already sure of myself back then. But I guess when I sent them to you, I felt like I did when I was a little girl, y’know? Going through puberty, and worrying about what other people think.” 

And it’s not like Jungkook teased you or made you feel lesser of yourself. In fact, Jungkook was the student you wanted to be when you were younger. Someone sweet and caring, and unabashedly confident about himself. 

“I guess seeing you so successful and the fact that my stupid childhood crush came back from a time where I always felt low, made me feel a little insecure again.” 

Something sinks in and you feel hyper aware of how crushed Jungkook looks at your declaration. “There’s no leagues, you got that?” he says quietly, walking so close that he’s hovering over you, sneakers brushing. “I get it. I get unsure and insecure just like you. Hell, I was nervous this morning, wondering if you’d really come. We may not feel insecure over the same things, but middle school wasn’t that great for me either.” He makes a funny face, and you feel a smile twitch across your lips. “But it’s okay. Because we’re human and we grow. But now, you are successful. You’ve grown from your time growing up and you’re a wonderful, powerful person. I’m proud of you too.” 

“I know,” you mumble, leaning your forehead against his chest. His arms wrap around you in response, holding you snug.

“And for the record, I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world in fourth grade. Even though my world was pretty small back then, I can say now that what I thought back then still stands true.” 

You look up from his embrace, where he’s leaning down to press a slow, cotton soft kiss to your forehead. He backs up a little to read your face, and you give a tiny nod in response to signal it’s okay. Jungkook exhales in contentment, relaxing against your frame. 

“Thanks, Kook,” you crack a smile, feeling your insecurities slowly evaporate. You feel better, light, knowing that these negative feelings are only temporary, and you’re not alone. Being in Jungkook’s arms, an honest boy turned man you’ve known all your life, it feels almost like home. 

You two stay like this for a while. Exchanging feather-like kisses, feeling irrevocably young and hopeful. Suddenly feeling emboldened, you tug him by the strings of his hoodie to press a long, hot kiss to his lips. There’s a stutter, and you’re pretty sure Jungkook choked on his saliva at the sudden change of pace but you continue, letting Jungkook catch up and follow your lead. 

“Wow,” Jungkook pulls away and his lips are shiny and flushed. Adorable. You think 7th grade Jungkook would be rolling in his Naruto sheets if he knew you two would inevitably end up together. Conversely, 7th grade you would be squealing in your kitten plushie, proud that you managed to nab your childhood crush to live out all the fantasies you’ve imagined since the 4th grade. 

“Jungkook,” you let your flannel fall to the floor in a heap, only leaving your baby blue top in a thin ruched camisole. “I think I want to do the photoshoot. Can’t pass up these pretty petals, y’know?” 

He runs a hand through his hair, gaping. “Really?” 

“Yeah,” you press a wet kiss to his neck, “anyway you want me, baby. Full creative control. I want you to like this as much as I do, okay?” 

With the permission to hold the wheel, Jungkook’s lightheaded and spinning. His eyes rake up and down your gorgeous form, wondering how many good deeds he’s done in his past life to earn a right just as this. 

“In that case,” he presses a palm to your shoulder, pushing you to sit along the velvet cushion, “strip for me.” 

[thelowlysatsuma]

alright dipsticks, hear me out

taz balance au where everything is the same except that lucretia and barry have each others’ farspeech frequencies

it all starts about a year after lucretia voidfishes the plane. she’s poking around goldcliff, hoping to find some way to con some rich shit into paying for her gigantic moon base, when she runs — literally runs headfirst — into some bespectacled nerd in denim

barry, for his part, doesn’t know why this complete stranger is offering to buy him lunch as an apology for spilling his Fantasy Starbucks all over his oldass shirt, but he sure as shit isn’t complaining. especially when something, something about this kid feels so... familiar

in a spur of the moment decision, lucretia gives him her farspeech number. barry doesn’t think anything of it at the time

...anything, that is, until he’s rising, spectral and flickering, over his battered corpse, and he begins laughing hysterically, tears glimmering in long-gone eye sockets. he may not have lup back, but he’s got his little sister.

so they start texting. is barry furious at lucretia for what she’s done? sure, a bit. but he understands her logic, and his temper is soothed when she point-blank tells him that she’s going to help him find lup. they may be working against each other as far as the relics are concerned, but if lucretia can locate at least one more shred of her former family, then by god is she going to. barry understands, he thinks, and so they help keep each other a little less lonely over a long ten years

lucretia keeps barry updated on how the other birds are doing, as best she can. they rejoice together as magnus and julia take back raven’s roost, and when glamour springs is shadowed by a mass poisoning barry has to do everything up to physically restraining lucretia from beating the ass of whichever motherfucker did that to taako. wait, he tells her. physical pain is temporary. a lich, on the other hand, is in a prime position to make some douche’s life a living hell. lucretia grins and offers to fund his plots in any way she can.

barry, for his part, keeps lucretia up-to-date on the search for lup. they have matching little cork boards in their respective offices, each filled with maps and theories and half-baked what-ifs. they aren’t any closer to finding out what happened to her, but they will. they have to.

speaking of things happening, barry is the first one to find lucretia after wonderland. he hadn’t been able to reach her for a month, and so when he feels the enormous surge of pure magical despair explode outwards from the felicity wilds, he transports himself there as quickly as he can. he finds his baby sister at the centre of a mile-wide crater, twenty years older and countless sacrifices poorer, and he holds her as gently as he can without physical hands, and makes her promise to never deal with wonderland again. fuck, he’ll get the animus bell for her, he doesn’t care. he just can’t see lucretia in that state ever again. (never again, that’s what they told themselves, in a group huddle late one night the dawn of cycle 66. he’d failed her once. he couldn’t do it again.)

as she builds up the bureau, lucretia starts getting questions about her best friend on the stone. lucas asks her point blank who it is one day early in their acquaintance, and she answers “b- uh, b-j” “that tells me basically nothing. what does that even stand for?” lucas demands. “uh,” lucretia says, “🅱️amazing jrace”

thus begins a fine tradition of bureau employees trying to get any info they can on the mysterious “bj”, including his actual name. so far some of the top answers they’ve gotten from madame director include “bitchin jackass” “burger joint” “beetlejuice” and “banjo jimboree”. once, robbie asks her if he’s her secret lover, and lucretia has to summon a bucket before retching in disgust, which puts paid to that particular theory fairly succinctly

barry, for his part, adores these rumours. he keeps asking if lucretia will lift the lich barrier, just for a day, so he can come and stir up even more shit. lucretia, while admittedly very tempted, denies.

when he finds out that lucretia has been telling bureau employees that the red robes are evil, barry is understandably insulted. the next group of regulators that touch the ground are covered in fantasy cheez whiz for the duration of their mission.

lucretia gets him back by replacing all the denim in the jeans at his base with silly string. barry moves bases, and the prank war escalates

(no one has the courage to tell madame director that her hair has been turned rainbow at the last candlenights party. privately, lucretia thinks she looks bitchin)

every now and again, lucretia will text barry in a panic. these texts tend to look like this:

“barry.” “barold aid me” “barry I fucked shit up real good this time” “barry” “barry” “barry I was at the fantasy Olive Garden and the waiter said ‘enjoy your meal’ and I said ‘you too’ barry kill me n o w “

barry can and will mock lucretia mercilessly for this. he also insists for weekly video updates on fisher and junior.

he also has biweekly fantasy skype sessions with davenport

booyah: I saw a woman so beautiful I started crying???

bear-old: oh mood

booyah: and then I hired her and her son (who’s a little bitch) to work on my secret moon base and I think I’ve made a terrible mistake???????

bear-old: oh my fucking god this is why I don’t trust you to stop the apocalypse

when the thb start working as reclaimers, barry demands weekly updates on them, as well. it goes about as well as you’d expect

booyah: magnus ate the philosopher’s stone

bear-old: he fucking w h a t ?

booyah: he used the glutton’s fork, and he ATE the philosopher’s stone. taako and merle used stone skin and stone shape to get the damn thing out. happy fucking candlenights.

when barry finds out that taako’s DATING the fool who’s been chasing after him wile e coyote style for over a decade, he loses his s h i t. he and lucretia have a girls’ night where they bitch about taako and eat shitty chocolate to cope

bear-old: you HIRED a BABY???

booyah: he’s ten! that’s plenty old. and he’s certainly competent, seeing as he found my organization when even you couldn’t.

bear-old: creesh please. please do not Irreparably Fuck Up A Small Child

booyah: hey, at least I’m not the one who threw him off a moving train!

bear-old: I never threw anyone off a

bear-old: lucretia

bear-old: who

bear-old: who in your employ threw ANGUS MCDONALD, a LITERAL CHILD, off of a MOVING. VEHICLE?

booyah:

booyah: taako

bear-old: fucking fantasy CHRIST

(they have quite a few girls’ nights eating shitty chocolate and razzing on taako, actually)

team sweet flips goes to the director’s office one day to give a status report and find her red-eyed and coughing. she says she has allergies. the cute cat video barry just texted her on her stone, however, begs to differ

lucretia preps the boys for refuge, yes, but her mind is filled with texts and tomes and the letters “l u p” carved into a bureau wall. she passes countless sleepless nights with barry on the line, trying to decipher what it all means

but they emerge from the woven gulch unscathed, and that can only mean one thing: wonderland

she doesn’t tell barry where she’s sending them. she can’t let him interfere out of some misguided attempt to save her from the place. her texts grow few and far between

she doesn’t have to tell barry. he knows

the day they get sent out, as lucretia breaks down in her office, surrounded by a dizzying vastness that could envelop her very being if she would just let it, her stone buzzes.

four words: I’ll keep them safe

and then?

well, then it’s the end of the world

(but when lup emerges from her decade-long cage, phantasmal and resplendent, lucretia and barry share a look)

(and when the hunger is consuming the only home she knows and she’s flying out in one last attempt to face is, barry is on her stone)

(and when the dust settles and they’re finally, finally free, when the world hears a story and a song and former and current bureau employees alike learn just how important the mysterious “bj” really is, when lucretia looks at the wreckage of her life’s work and home and family — when all that happens, barry is the one to beckon to her with open arms.)

(they’ve been beside the other for a hundred and ten years, after all. that��s not gonna fucking change now.)

anyways yeah folks barry and lucretia texting au play with me in this space

@littlemisscritical @thatcoldfeeling and you know what? @herbgerblin what the hell

[supernaturalwritingbunker]

Published Before Editing-Dean Winchester-Chapter 1

Summary: (Proposal AU) Dean Winchester, aspiring author and assistant to one of the best Editor-in-Chiefs in the country, knew it wouldn’t be an easy job when he applied. But here he is, years later, tasked with one job from his boss that wasn’t listed anywhere in the initial job description. His morals, family relationships and his career are all out to be tested. Will he pass? Will he fail? What will the oldest Winchester son do? 

Warnings: Language, AU, John and Mary are Alive. Mary’s Mom, Deanna, is Alive. No Hunting. Boss/Employee Relationship. 

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Emily Morgan (OC)

Words: 3,844

Tag List: @elskinner45 @you-a-southpaw-doll @it-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes @jai-lynne-unknown @akshi8278​ 

A/N: Here is our first series on this blog. If you like it, please leave some feedback so we know if we should continue it or not. I know there has been a lot of AU’s for Dean with this movie but we wanted to do our own. Change it up. 

To Be Tagged: Comment, Message, Submit an Ask

Third Person POV

You know when you wake up in the morning you sometimes get a gut feeling of how the day would go? Well, this morning, no one had the feeling that today would be unlike any other. 37 year old Canadian-American , Emily Morgan is doing her normal routine of getting up at 5 AM and immediately exercising. 

Today, she’s on her exercise bike in the middle of her New York apartment, reading a long manuscript she was given the other day. Flipping the pages of the manuscript, she reads through it, and pedals on the stationary bike, part of her imagining she’s on a leisurely bike ride through Paris.

***

On the complete opposite side of town, Dean Winchester, however, is curled in his blankets, not wanting to get out of the warm comfort he was in. He opens his eyes and looks around for a brief moment, glancing around.

Flipping over to lay on his stomach with his blanket out and on top of the covers, he closes his eyes once again before he can wake up fully. Relaxing against his mattress with his pillow bunched up under between his arm and his head, he lets out a soft noise of content. 

His alarm isn’t blaring in his ear as it usually would at this hour in the morning so he tries to get some more sleep. Right away, his eyes snap back open when he realizes the sunlight is hitting him in the face.

He glances at the clock on his night stand to find the red numbers of 12:00 blinking at him. He grabs his watch to check the actual time. 

“Shit!” He says, throwing his watch back onto the stand.

The time is 6:16 AM and he has to be at the office at 7 AM or his boss, Emily, will probably fire him, despite working as her assistant for years. He jumps up from his bed and runs to his closet, hoping he still has a suit clean.

***

Emily finished her exercises not too long ago and she just got out of a nice hot shower. She doesn’t have a care in the world. Being the Executive Editor-in-Chief  for Singer Publishing, she shows up when she wants to. And that time is always 7 AM. Not a minute before. Not a minute after.

***

Dean rushes out of his apartment building in his suit, which he’s thankful that it’s 100% clean, and practically runs into on-coming traffic. Cars honking are heard behind him but he doesn’t pay any mind to the sounds. He has to get her, his boss, coffee for the morning, otherwise, she will not be a happy camper. 

***

Emily is in her nicely stocked kitchen, eating a small bowl of oatmeal. She’s dressed in a nice, light blouse, and dark blazer, with a skirt to match. You can tell she had it dry cleaned and pressed. On the counter in front of her lies the manuscript she was reading while exercising earlier in the morning. 

She takes the last bite of her breakfast before putting it in the sink, deciding to clean it when she gets home. That’s a problem for her afternoon self to worry about. 

***

Dean runs into the Starbucks closest to the publishing building. Each and every single week, Monday through Friday, and a few weekends, he’s here getting coffee for Emily so much that the baristas know him by now. He gets the same exact thing and never misses a day...except today where he is a little late. 

Groaning to himself, he dares to sneak a glance at his watch after finding a long line ahead of him.

“Dean!” He hears from the front of the coffee shop. “Hey.”

His eyes snap up to see Jo, the barista that always takes his order. She’s holding up a small drink carrier with two coffees inside. He gently pushes past everyone in line and lays down a few dollars on the counter before taking the cups.

“Literally saved my life. Thank you.” He says, softly, before rushing toward the door. “Thank you!”

Jo smiles to herself and bites her lip, checking out the handsome man in the dark blue suit. Dean runs from the shop down the sidewalk, trying to make it to the building in time. The sign for Singer Publishing enters his eyesight and he runs into traffic again, causing car owners to lay on their horns. 

He ignores them completely as he runs around another man to get in the front door. Trying to use all his speed but keep the coffees in his hand, he rushes down the hallway toward the elevator. One starts closing causing him to hit the door on the way in, almost slamming into other employees. 

He lets out a deep breath before speaking.

“Everyone okay?”

“Yeah.” One answers, looking up at him.

“Me too.” He nods and takes another breath.

***

Emily, with her purse and cell phone, is walking down the street at her normal pace. Her phone starts ringing and she smiles slightly before answering it. 

“Hello, Ash? How’s my favorite writer?” She pauses to listen to him as she glances around the street. “Of course you’ve been thinking about our talk because you know I’m right.” She says, crossing the road safely. “People in this country are busy, broke and hate to read. They need someone to say, ‘Hey! Don’t watch Dr. Sexy MD tonight. Read a book! Read Ash’s book!’ And that person is Oprah.”

***

Dean makes it to his floor with only about 5 minutes to spare. He puts Emily’s coffee in his right hand with his in the other to make sure he doesn’t spill it. The elevator doors open and he rushes to the right side of the hall.

“Cutting it close.” Amelia says, seeing him rush in while she’s on the phone.

Never stopping his steps, he speaks.

“One of those mornings.” He glances over his shoulder at her. “Thank you, Captain Obvious.”

Before he can stop, the mail carrier backs up into Dean’s tracks causing the assistant to slam into his back, crushing Emily’s extremely hot coffee against his own chest. ‘Ooohhhh….’ is heard around the office at the sight.

“Sweet...” Dean calls out, angrily. “Jesus!”

“Sorry.” The mail carrier mumbles as he pulls his cart away.

“Rub some dirt on it, brother.” Someone calls out to him.

He takes in a deep breath and rushes down the aisle. This day is already shaping up to be one helluva rough one. That’s for sure. And, as a Winchester, he knows rough days like the back of his hands.

***

Emily has made it to the building, still on the phone with Ash.

“Ash, the truth is all A-plus novelists do publicity.” She says, walking to the elevator and waits. “Roth, McCourt, Russo and..” 

Ash cuts her off in the middle of her sentence.

“Ash! Can I tell you what else they have in common? A Pulitzer.”  She cuts back in, still talking into her phone as she stares at the elevator doors.

***

Dean, having already taken off his suit jacket, searches for his friend among the sea of co-workers and cubicles. When he finally finds the person he’s looking for, he quickens his steps. 

“I need the shirt off your back. Literally.” He looks down at Garth.

“You’re kidding, right?” He says, looking up at Dean, noticing the large coffee stain on his white button-up.

“Yankees, Boston, this Tuesday, two company seats for your shirt.” Dean proposes. “You have five seconds to decide. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.” 

Garth stares at him for a moment, not knowing if he is 100% serious.

***

Amelia’s laughing with a co-worker when she hears the familiar sounds of heels against the floor. Her head snaps up and her eyes widen.

“Shit.” She whispers before leaning down to her computer. 

She opens up the chatroom that contains everyone in the office, besides Emily. 

‘It’s Here.’ she sends, warning all her colleagues.

Emily walks further into the offices and everyone, one by one, looks up. As she walks by their desks, she hears a small bubble pop as their message comes up. She doesn’t think anything of it. The sound is normal for her office, even if she doesn’t know why. Or that she’s, literally, the elephant in the room.

She glances around and hears people talking on the phone or filling out paperwork. This, right here, is exactly what she wants to see early in the morning. People actually doing their damn jobs. She opens up her office door to see her assistant, Dean, standing on the other side of the room, holding her coffee cup. 

“Hello, Boss.” He says, holding out the cup. “You have a conference call in 30 minutes.”

Without stopping her footsteps, she takes the cup and walks to her desk.

“Yes. About the marketing of the spring books. I know.” She sits down in her chair. 

 “Staff meeting at 9:00.” Dean continues as he walks closer to her desk.

Emily turns her chair around so she’s facing her desk. “Did you call...What’s his name? With...with the weird scar on his arm.”

“Cain.” He informs her.

“Yes, Cain.” She nods, putting her cup down on her desk. 

“Yes. I did. I told him that if he doesn’t get his manuscript in on time you won’t give him a release date.”  He nods, passing her some books that she needs. “Also your immigration lawyer called. He said it’s imperative…”

She cuts him off as she looks at her sticky notes. “Cancel the call, push the meeting to tomorrow, keep the lawyer on the sheets. Get a hold of PR, have them start drafting a press release. Ash is doing Oprah.”

 “Wow.” Dean raises his eyebrows slightly. “Nicely done.”

“If I want your praise, I will ask for it.” She bites out, grabbing her coffee.

Dean ignores her comment and begins walking to the door. Emily turns in her seat toward her computer before glancing at her cup. She raises an eyebrow and turns back toward her desk.

“Who is...Who is Jo? And why does she want me to call her?” She asks, looking at her assistant.

Dean stops in his tracks and looks at her with slight shock written all over his face. She turns the cup so he can read the writing on the side. 

“Well, that was originally my cup.” He states.

“And I’m drinking your coffee, why?” She asks, biting her lip slightly, trying to stop a smile. 

“Because your coffee spilled.” He admits.

She nods as she looks at the cup and takes a drink. Taking a hesitant sip, she reads the side of the cup, realizing it’s her exact drink as well. 

“So you drink caramel light soy lattes?” She raises an eyebrow.

“I do. It’s like Christmas in a cup.” He says.

“Is that a coincidence?” She leans back in her seat slightly.

“Incredibly, it is.” He says as the phone rings. He walks over to it as he continues to speak. “I wouldn’t drink the same coffee that you drink just in case yours spilled. That would be pathetic.” 

He picks up the phone. “Morning, Miss Morgan’s office. Hey, Dick.” 

Dean looks up at his boss to see her gesture to Dick’s office before turning in her seat toward her computer.

“Actually, we’re headed to your office right now.” Dean says before hanging up. “Why are we headed to Dick���s office?” 

Emily just turns in her seat and kisses her teeth with a smirk. Dean does the same before rolling his eyes and walking out of her office. As soon as he exits her eyeline, he runs over to his desk and types in the group chat.

‘THE WITCH IS ON HER BROOM.’ 

The sound of bubble’s popping is heard throughout the office once again. People start rushing to act like they are working as Emily walks out of her office with her coffee cup.

Dean jogs over to her and begins walking her speed.

“Have you finished the manuscript I gave you?” He asks, softly.

“I read a few pages. I wasn’t that impressed.” She says, not caring.

“Can I say something?” He glances at her.

“No.” She states.

He starts talking anyway. “I’ve read thousands of manuscripts. This is the only one I’ve given you. There’s an incredible novel in there. The kind of novel you publish.”

She glances to her left to see Garth stop in the aisle near them with a large coffee stain on his shirt. Either Dean spilled his office on him or...he switched shirts, and Emily is going with the latter.

“Wrong. And I do think you order the same coffee as I do just in case you spill, which is, in fact, pathetic.” She says, looking forward again.

“Or impressive.” Dean tries.

“I’d be impressed if you didn’t spill it in the first place.” She stops walking as she gets to Dick’s office. “Remember, you’re a prop.” 

“Won’t say a word.” Dean mumbles before walking to the office before her.

He opens the door and walks in, making sure to keep it open for her. Dick looks up from his laptop with a slight smirk as he watches Emily walk in. She nods toward him with a small smile as she tips her coffee cup to him. 

“Our fearless leader and her liege. Please, do come in.” He says, looking back down at his computer.

Emily glances around the office before noticing something new in the office. 

“Beautiful breakfront. Is it new?” She asks, knowing damn well it is.

She walks over and gently runs her hand against it.

“It is English Regency Eqyptian Revival, built in the 1800s…” Dick gloats. “...but, yes, it is new to my office.”

Emily leans against the breakfront and sighs.

“Witty.” She whispers. “Dick, I’m letting you go.” 

Dean and Dick both turn their heads to look at her.

“Pardon?” He raises an eyebrow.

“I asked you over a dozen times to get Ash to do Oprah and you didn’t do it.” She looks up at him. “You’re fired.”

Dean turns toward the office door and closes it, not wanting anyone to hear what is going on. 

“I have told you that is impossible!” Dick tries to say. “Ash hasn’t done an interview in 20 years!”

“That is interesting, because I just got off the phone with him and he is in.” She smirks slightly.

“Excuse me?” He says, shocked.

“You didn’t even call him, did you?” She questions. 

“But…” 

“I know, I know...Ash can be a little scary to deal with...For you.” She says, walking toward his desk. “Now, I will give you two months to find another job. And then we can tell everyone you resigned, okay?”

She doesn’t let him answer. Her question being one of the rhetorical style, and more of a demand disguised as a question. She takes a manuscript off his desk and hands it to Dean before walking out the door. 

“What’s his twenty?” Emily whispers to Dean as they exit the office. 

Dean glances over his shoulder, watching Dick pace for a moment before answering. 

“He’s moving.” He continues walking as he speaks. “He has crazy eyes.”

“Don’t do it, Dick. Don’t do it.” She mumbles so only Dean can hear.

Dick runs out of his office and yells to her.

“You poisonous bitch!” 

This causes Emily to stop in her tracks and sigh. Everyone in the office snaps their heads up toward the commotion.

“You can’t fire me!” Dick continues as Emily turns around and Dean leans against someone’s desk to watch. “You don’t think I see what you’re doing here? Sandbagging me on this Oprah thing so that you can look good to the board? Because you are threatened by me! And you are a monster!”

Emily shakes her head, not really caring about what he is saying about her. “Dick, stop…”

“Just because you have no semblance of life outside of this office, you think you can treat all of us like your own personal slaves.” He continues, loving the attention now. “You know what? I feel sorry for you. Because you know what you’re gonna have on your deathbed? Nothing and no one!”

Emily steps toward him and takes in a deep breath. 

“Listen carefully, Dick. I didn’t fire you because I feel threatened. No. I fired you because you’re lazy, entitled, imcompetent and you spend more time cheating on your wife than you do in your office. And if you say another word, Dean here is gonna have you thrown out, okay?” She asks, causing Dean’s eyebrows to raise slightly. “Another word and you’re going out of here with an armed escort. Dean will film it with his camera phone and he’ll put it on that Internet site. What was it?”

She looks at him, wanting to actually know the site’s name. 

“Youtube?” He raises an eyebrow. 

“Exactly. Is that what you want?” She asks, but he doesn’t answer. “Didn’t think so. I have work to do.”

She turns around and starts walking down toward her office, Dean trailing closely behind her.

“Have security take his breakfront and put it in my conference room.” She looks straight ahead.

“Will do.” Dean nods.

“I need you this weekend to help review his files and his manuscript.” She states, not letting him say otherwise.

“This weekend?” He asks, stopping outside her office.

She stops in front of him and raises an eyebrow. “You have a problem with that?”

“No. I...just my grandmother’s 90th birthday so I was gonna go home and…” She rolls her eyes and walks into her office. “It’s fine. I’ll cancel it. You’re saving me from a weekend of misery, so it’s...Good talk, yeah…”

He sighs and walks to his desk. He sits down and immediately calls his mother. He informs her of the news that was just dropped on him and he sighs.

“I know, I know. Okay, tell Gammy I’m sorry. What…” His mother cuts him off. “Mom. What do you want me to tell you? She’s making me work the weekend. No, I’m not...No...I’ve worked too hard for this promotion to throw it all away.” 

Emily walks out of her office toward his desk. 

“I’m sure that Dad is pissed but we take all of our submissions around here seriously.” He continues talking to his mother. “We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.”

He hangs up the phone after quickly coming up with a lie. He looks up at her to see her staring down at him with her hand on her hip.

“Was that your family?” She asks.

“Yes.” He nods slightly.

“They tell you to quit?” She asks again.

“Every single day.” He says, grabbing the phone as it rings. “Miss Morgan’s office. Yeah. Okay. Alright.” He hangs up and looks up at her. “Singer and Harvelle want to see you upstairs immediately.” 

She growls slightly and sighs.

“Okay. Come get me in ten minutes. We’ve got a lot to do.” She says, before walking toward the elevators.

Dean glares at her back before picking up the ringing phone once again.

Emily walks into the lobby of the offices upstairs and toward the big boss’ doors.

“Good morning, Miss Morgan.” The receptionist says happily, but she just ignores her.

She opens up the door and walks in with a smile on her face. 

“Bobby, Ellen.” 

“Congratulations on the Oprah thing.” Bobby nods toward her.

“Thank you, thank you.” She nods, standing beside the chairs in front of his desk. “This isn’t about my second raise, is it? Just kidding.”

“Emily, do you remember when we agreed you wouldn’t go to the Frankfurt Book Fair because you weren’t allowed out of the country while your visa application was being processed?” Bobby asks, laying down a paper in his hand. 

“Yes. I do.” She nods.

“And...You went to Frankfurt.” He states.

“Yes. We were going to lose DeLillo to Hellhound. So...really didn’t have a choice, did I?” She giggles slightly.

“Seems the United States Government doesn’t care who published Don DeLillo.” Bobby leans forward on his desk.

“We just spoke to your immigration attorney.” Ellen speaks up for the first time.

“Great. So, we’re all good?” Emily smiles slightly. “Everything good?”

“Emily, your visa application has been denied.” Bobby says, reading the paper.

Emily’s eyes widen. “What?”

“And you are being deported.” Bobby continues.

“Deported?!”

“And there was also some paperwork you didn’t fill out in time.” He finishes.

“Come on. Come on!” Emily scoffs. “It’s not like I’m even an immigrant! I’m from Canada, for Christ’s sake. There’s gotta be...something we can do.”

“We can reapply, but unfortunately you have to leave the country for at least a year.” Ellen reveals to the woman.

“Okay...Okay well, that’s not ideal, but I can…” She thinks. “I can manage everything from Toronto.” She gestures to the computer. 

“No.” Ellen shakes her head. 

“With videoconferencing. Internet.” Emily continues anyway.

“Unfortunately, if you’re deported you can’t work for an American Company.” Ellen informs her.

“Untill this is resolved, I’m going to turn operations over to Dick Roman.” Bobby says.

“Dick Roman? The guy I just fired?” She asks, pointing over her shoulder.

“We need an Editor-in- Chief. He is the only person in the building who has enough experience.” Bobby states.

“You cannot be serious.” Emily sighs. “I beg of you.”

“Emily. We are desperate to have you stay. If there was any way, any way at all we could make this work, we’d be doing it…” 

“There is no way...I am begging you.” Emily puts her hands together.

“No.” Bobby looks up as the door opens. “Excuse me, we’re in a meeting.”

Emily glances over her shoulder to see Dean poking his head in. 

“Sorry to interrupt.”

“What?” Emily practically snaps.

“Mary from Ms. Winfrey’s office called. She’s on the line.” Dean lies.

“I know.” She sighs and nods.

“She’s on hold. She needs to speak with you. I told her you were otherwise engaged.” Dean says. “She insisted...so.”

Emily opens her mouth to tell him to leave when one of the words he says plays through her mind. 

‘Come here.’ She mouths causing Dean to raise an eyebrow. ‘Come here!’

He takes the few steps in before closing the door behind himself. He walks in before standing in the middle of the room, confused. She smirks to herself slightly before looking at Bobby and Ellen.

“Gentleman, Ma’am, I understand. I understand the predicament that we are in…” She starts before backing up to stand beside her assistant. “I think there’s something that you should know. We’re getting married.” 

“Who is getting married?” Dean whispers as he looks at her then at Bobby.

“You and I.” She smiles up at him. 

He stares at the big boss’ with slight shock, not knowing what to say. Dean Winchester...Is marrying his boss?!

[taerseok]

— sequel: puzzle piece | k.s.j

pairing:. singledad!k.s.j × reader

synopsis:. starting a new life, it felt difficult, especially without the help of your once beloved, and now a burden of a child. But, when an unexpected, yet hopeful, plot twist takes your life into a completely new direction, you find yourself enjoying youth again. It happens to be that not only you've found happiness in a man so similar to you, but a shoulder to grow old with.

word count:. 13.1k

genre(s):. romance, angst

warning(s):. strong language, mean mochi

song rec(s):. here with me - Susie Suh, moon - Jin

♡ A/N:. please read the prologue, "Paper Hearts," first to understand the story better. Thank you for reading, and hope you enjoy! ♡

It was way later in the evening of the shopping spree, that you reached back home with Hoseok, and sat down in the living room to explain to him about what had transpired back in that shop. Putting down the bag in which the clothes for your little one were kept, you gestured him to sit down, and he did so without responding. You were not sure how to explain him how the whole deal had went, really. All you knew was that some stranger had just offered to pay for clothes you had wanted to buy, and then you exchanged contacts so you could pay him back, and then he was gone like he had ever existed.

You thought about the whole ordeal, your expressions constantly changing, which made Hoseok laugh. "Are you not going to tell me about how you got those clothes without paying any money or what?" he asked, on the verge of chuckling him again, when you rolled your eyes and spoke up. "Yeah, yeah. Now this might sound weird, but…" you took a deep breath and thought over everything again. It was certainly weird.

Weirder than weird, it was outright stupid. What if you were someone who ripped the guy off? You knew you weren't, he was right this time, but if he went around paying for everyone's stuff like that and offering them his number, you were sure he'd find a rotten apple here or there.

And yet, he had been so assured, giving you his number and trusting you to pay him back somehow. You were confused by his mindset; what if you got close to him only to rob him or something? Or if you called him over and murdered him? Who'd take care of his child, Haneul? His reactions made no sense to you. You knew you weren't a murderer, you knew you wouldn't ever steal from someone, but how could he trust a mere stranger that easily? He didn't know you. Or in that case, what you were capable of.

You sighed. "Well, there was this guy - what was his name? - ah yes, Kim Seokjin. And he was there with his son, Haneul. And he was in the line behind me. So, when you didn't come in time to pay for the clothes I had bought," which was because he had to deal with Jimin and Minhee, "the feisty employee yelled at me, and then he came to the rescue, paid for my clothes, gave me his number so I could pay him back, and left, since he couldn't stay longer because his child was sick," you explained in a single breath, making Hoseok look at you in confusion.

"Wait, wait, wait. A stranger paid for you?" he frowned, tilting his head. You were questioning the same exact thing. "Apparently… yes. And now I've got to pay him back. That's it, I suppose," you shrugged, still surprised and weirded out by the whole situation. You still couldn't believe how naive the guy was - who'd pay for a stranger? "You think he's really like that, or did he have... ulterior motives or something?" Hoseok asked, eyeing you worriedly. You giggled at his protective reaction.

"I guess we'll see."

Days had gone by since the encounter took place. Since then, you had been texting Seokjin a lot more often, and you had gotten to know him better. He was just a little older than you, and he had a lot of likes that matched up with yours. Moreover, you both had an interest in acting, and when you told him that you had a bachelor's in acting and performing, and found out he did too, you were astonished at the similarities.

Deciding that Haneul was feeling a bit better, Seokjin and you chose a date to meet up at a coffee shop, which was how'd you pay him back - paying for his coffee.

You had originally denied the idea, for it was totally unfair and a coffee would cost much less than clothes, but Seokjin had been stubborn, and he and you had became good friends already, so he took the chance to see you again.

Seokjin also being… well, Seokjin, decided that on the Saturday he and you'd be meeting up, he'd come to pick you from Hoseok's house. Initially, you lost your mind at the thought and told him that Hoseok was home, he could drop you off, but once again, he didn't listen to a single protest.

"Look, Y/n! I am coming to pick you up and I rest my case," you heard his voice blow through the speakers of your phone. You groaned, not able to hold back the frustration. "Please, Y/n," the male pleaded, stretching your name, to which you responded by sighing. "But Hoseok is at home, and you know, I have really had enough," you stopped yourself from going further, afraid you'd hurt his feelings.

What you had meant to say was, you have really had enough of depending on others for things you could do on your own. But then again, you couldn't support yourself at all. Either way, your were taking help from a friend. You sighed heavily, letting your frustration escape you. "What do you mean?" you could practically hear him frowning. You clicked your tongue. "It's nothing," you replied, going over everything again and again in your head. You chewed on your bottom lip, and then finally decided to accept his offer. "Fine. Come pick me up."

After all, what did you have to lose?

Taking one last look at your outfit, which consisted of a light brown turtle neck, and some high jeans, you went down the stairs to say your goodbyes to Hoseok. "You better introduce me to this guy soon! You two seem to be bonding," you giggled at his comment, covering your mouth. "I will, I will! I'll talk to him about the whole sleepover thing too, okay?" you said, giving Hoseok a tight hug.

Hoseok, who had been trying his hardest to lift up your mood, decided that it'd be better if he got your whole group of highschool friends together, and you all had a sleepover. Recently, after he had found out about how your friendship was progressing, he couldn't help but ask you to invite him over. You happily agreed with his suggestion, so today would be the perfect chance to see if he was free. You still had your doubts, he was a parent, and of course, it would be very hard for him to have a clear schedule. Still, it was worth a try to ask.

It was as if time ran in its perfect course, because the moment you had finished saying the last of your 'see you soon's and 'have fun's, the doorbell rang. "Okay then! I'll see you later!" exclaiming that, you opened the door to be greeted by the sight of Seokjin again.

He wore his cute smile, the one which had made you feel completely lost back at that store. It almost made you lost in thought again. That, paired with his casual outfit, and his hair styled to one side, with a bit of it falling over his face - it all was a little out of the blue, because you couldn't take your eyes off of him for a second. It wasn't until he started waving his hand in front of you that you had to sink back into reality.

"Hello~? Earth to Y/n?" Seokjin frowned, blinking rapidly. You abruptly were thrown back to the doorstep, and started to stammer furiously. "O-Oh my God, I'm s-so sorry!" you put your hands in front of your chest as a defense, mentally beating yourself up, but he only responded with a light chuckle. "You better not space out on me again till I get that coffee."

To be honest, you were a little conflicted that you were paying him back with Hoseok's money, and since Hoseok had strictly forbidden you to do any heavy work while you were pregnant, you couldn't even find yourself a job. But maybe it was for the best; you should take care of yourself and your baby for now. Taking extra responsibilities would only be a burden to your health.

Entering the car, you sat down next to the driver's seat, in which Seokjin sat. He started the car, and before you knew it, you were off on your way. "We could've walked there, you know," you said, staring out the window to be mesmorised by the bright scenery outside. Seokjin's eyes left the road for a moment to look at you, before he fixated them back. "We could have. But you're clearly not in the best position to, if you know what I mean," he shrugged slightly.

You looked at him and his steady focus on the road and the cars ahead. "What do you-?" you tilted your head, confused by his vague statement. He groaned, though his eyes stayed in the same direction as always. "Y/n! Honestly! How stupid can you be?" he frowned, clearly displeased by the fact that he had to explain it to you. "Hey!I'm not stupid, you," you were about to call him stupid, but he had gone and interrupted you by then.

"I meant… I wouldn't want a hormonal lady screeching and pulling at her hair - or even mine - because she's tired of walking. I'm too handsome for that," he explained, his voice strangely calm, though his expression conveyed something else. Flustered or angered, you couldn't put your finger on it. You give him an 'ohh' as a response, nodding your head slightly in agreement, before you thought for it a bit more.

"Wait a second! Who are you calling a hormonal lady?!" you frown, about to jump at him, before you realised you're in a car. Seokjin took a moment to calm down, before he addressed you again. "Geez! You're going to get us both killed, Y/n, and wouldn't it be depressing if we died all because we wanted some coffee from Starbucks?"

Getting out of the car when you two finally reached the place, you caught up to Seokjin, surprising yourself at the pace you could run. You decided upon sitting outside, while Seokjin took the money you had offered, and went to get your coffee along with his. It was a while, and you waited as time trickled by. Every time the door would open, you'd get excited to see Seokjin stumble out, but everytime it was a let down.

The blood in your veins stopped moving, you almost became a frozen mess, when you saw someone familiar come out of the shop.

Oh, wasn't it a fateful occurrence - Park Jimin.

If you could die from seeing someone, you'd be dead on the spot, but the astonishment didn't end. In fact, it only got bigger. You could pull out your eyeballs at the moment - Jimin and Seokjin were talking. They were actually talking. You couldn't believe it. Why? Maybe because they stumbled across each other in the shop? Did they know each other? Your heart was racing, and at the same time, it had stopped beating from the shock of realising what had just transpired.

Beckoning Seokjin over by gestures, you took a deep breath as he handed you over your frappuccino, with a quizzical look. "Are you okay?" he raised a brow, his voice lined with worry. You shook your head as you took a sip of your drink, trying to calm yourself, but the coffee only made more adrenaline rush through your body. "Okay, tell me, how do you know that man you were talking to?" you asked, your brows knitting together.

He looked a little taken aback, but he looked around himself in confusion. Jimin had left already - he hadn't noticed you and you were more than glad for that. "The blond man?" he asked, tilting his head innocently. "Yes." He looked at you in suspicion, before sighing.

"I work at his company."

The frappuccino almost fell from your hand - you almost spat out the drink that was in your mouth. You threw a coughing fit, trying to get the coffee down your throat. You didn't even realise when Seokjin had gotten up and ran to your seat, running his down your back. It was for a few seconds before you felt better. You took deep breaths.

Seokjin sat back down on his seat, staying quiet. He figured he wasn't one to question the situation much, but you looked at him in such an expecting way, he had to ask the thought on his mind.

"And how do you know him?"

You fumbled with your hair, then took a sip of the drink to busy yourself, though nothing could divert the attention. You had brought this hell over yourself and you'd have to answer it. You bit your lip, then sighed heavily.

"He was… my ex-boyfriend." The statement was enough to send Seokjin into a shock. His eyes widened, and the usual, cute smile that you compared to an alpaca had vanished, completely. Instead, his posture remained frozen until he gained the ability to speak again.

"Don't tell me," he said in a small voice, struggling to go further. "And the one… who… well, got me pregnant," you said in a very quiet whisper, proving his accusations to be true. "You're… single? B-But... why?" you guessed it was a good time to speak up about your past, because it was obvious by the expression on his face that Seokjin wouldn't put down the matter until he had been given closure.

If it was someone else, you would've groaned, cried your eyes out, or some other hysterical reaction, but with Seokjin, you often felt a lot more comfortable, despite only knowing him for a while. Taking the opportunity to talk about your history with the blond male, you parted your lips to speak.

"Well…" you sighed again, unable to bottle up your frustration, "he cheated on me. I found out about it on the day I had came home to tell him about the whole… pregnancy thing. We had been dating for years. It's been a week since then," you said slowly, your voice a small, sorrowful whisper. He stayed quiet for a moment. It felt like there was no one sitting with you, and yet he was still there. For a moment, you thought he'd stand up and leave for some reason, but he didn't. And for some reason, again, you were grateful.

"I'm so sorry. Did the day we meet… the day you broke up?" he frowned, he was fumbling with the sleeve of his own shirt, obviously uncomfortable and brought down by the situation. "The day after, yeah." You took another sip of your drink, careful not to cough again. "Don't be so depressed!" you giggled, looking at the little expression he made. It was adorable, and you couldn't stop yourself from laughing even more. "Ah, it reminds me of my own tale too," he chuckled, his laugh hollow, taking a sip of his iced coffee. "How so?"

"Well, after Haneul was born, my girlfriend decided that… she didn't want him anymore. Obviously, I did. I love him. He is... my life," you nodded in agreement to his words. Your child was your life too - literally. The only reason you had started to live again.

Being reminded of how much your child had impacted your life, you couldn't help but remember how toxic your relationship with the child's biological father was. Most often than not, it was only you doing the hard work and trying to make the bond stronger. Most often than not, it was Jimin trying to show you signs that he didn't love You, but he could never really be straight-forward enough. And you, blind in love, most often than not, regarded his mistakes as perfection, and the signs he didn't love you went ignored.

You'd see the distance in his eyes as exhaustion from work, his calls that he'd be late as factual information, not excuses, and his words of confirmation when he replied back with an 'I love you' as real. But it was all a hoax, and now that you looked back on it, you were ashamed.

He had became the center of your Universe, the only reason you wanted to live, and the reason your life was so bright. Without him, you thought you'd die. But you hadn't - when you had broken up, you had wilted, but with a little sunshine, you had made it through. You were not with a liar anymore. And that is what mattered most. It had made you acknowledge that a fake could never last long.

"So… she drew herself to the conclusion that we had to break up. We did. She left." You could hear the emptiness in his voice. Every little word had a hole in it, a gaping, widening hole, that left scars on Seokjin. You stared at him, listening to his words with a somber melancholy playing at your lips.

"I'm really sorry for all that," you lowered yourself into your seat, deciding to change the topic. Trying to choose appropriate words, you flustered to come up with something. "Um, so… how's Haneul now?" you tilted your head at Seokjin, who gave a light smile. You figured he still hadn't healed yet, even after years. There was a bitter dismissal in his eyes. It flashed across for a bit, and even if he tried to hide it behind his pretty smile, you could see define the shadow that his past girlfriend had cast over him.

"Ah, Haneul. He's better. My cousin offered to take care of him, while I met up with you." His smile faltered as his sentence ended, and he took a sip of his coffee again, busying himself so he wouldn't have to take anyone else's pity. He hoped you understood his actions, because you went through something similar, but he'd never know. And it was better to be safe than sorry.

Mustering up everything you got to make the situation lighter, a thought sprang into your mind. "So… I told you about my friend, Hoseok, right?" to your question, Seokjin nodded. "Well, he was asking if you could... join for a sleepover we're having, this Friday? Us highschool friends are organising a fun, little reunion. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun, and… um… you can bring Haneul too, if you'd like! I'm sure he'll have fun too," you gave him a nervous smile, noticing his every reaction, and how a small smile crept over to his face in approval.

"I'd love to. I'll bring Haneul too." His reply made you ecstatic. Out of excitement, before you could even think of what you were doing, your hand was holding his, and you squeezed it appreciatively. "Thank you, so, so, so much! I'll make sure you won't regret it."

That was where you parted ways that afternoon - Seokjin drove you back home, and giving him a hug, you watched as his car sped down the road, until its distant silhouette disappeared. You opened the door, taking out the key Hoseok had given to you. The action reminded you a little too much of that unfortunate day last weekend.

You stepped inside, and as per usual, you announced your arrival as soon as you entered loudly.  "I'm home!" you exclaimed, making Hoseok shout back through the living room. "Welcome back."

You ran to the living room, then sat down next to Hoseok on the couch, hugging your knees and looking at him while he watched the television. "I saw Seokjin," you said, expecting that he'd ask you about more details like he did back on the day of the unexpected meeting, and you were not wrong. He turned to you with such an expression, that almost reminded you of that one lenny-face you saw on the internet, that was smirking like there was no tomorrow, but just as Hoseok was himself, he had made it even more absurd. "Tell me everything."

At his response, you rolled your eyes, feeling pity for the television show that was left forgotten. "So, apparently… he knows Jimin - no - he works under him," Hoseok's eyes widened, enough for him to pull his eyeballs out, for which you rolled your eyes into oblivion. "You're not serious!" at your serious expression, he chuckled In disbelief. "Small world!" he exclaimed, shrugging. You turned your head to the show.

"I was also going to ask you, do we invite Jimin?" your brows furrowed, you turned back to Hoseok. "To the reunion?" you asked, barely able to keep your anger at the question. Yes, he might have been in your circle of friends before he had gotten too popular for all of you, and you, dumb as you were, had started chasing after him but still, you weren't about to call the person who ruined your life to a sleepover that was supposed to help you get it back together. Hoseok could only nod meekly. You groaned. "For fuck's sake, no. Isn't that the worst idea ever?" you frowned.

"Well… yes, but… I didn't tell Taehyung of the break-up or cheating thing yet because you know how he is… didn't want to worry him… so… he might…" Hoseok stopped, when he saw the smoke coming out of your ears, your face red with fury, your knuckles white from pushing them into the couch. "You what?!" you exclaimed, fumbling to take out your phone and call Taehyung.

Getting it out, you dialled a number you hadn't contacted in ages, but who cared? You had to stop Taehyung from making a stupid mistake before he made one, and if he did, consider your reunion done for.

Getting up as the ringtone buzzed in your ear, you impatiently waited for the boy to pick up his mobile phone. You didn't speak until his deep voice was heard by you, and after that, you immediately started shouting, a little part of you hoping you wouldn't intimidate the poor boy.

"Kim Taehyung, tell me truthfully, did you tell Jimin about the reunion already?"

"If you're talking about that, then yes I did, no need for thanking me, I already know I'm-"

"Oh my fucking God, Taehyung, you weren't supposed to, you idiot!" you screamed, letting Hoseok know your worst suspicions were correct. "Was I not? Ah, why, Y/n-ah?" you could hear him frowning from the other side of the phone. "Because the…" you bit your lip, telling yourself mentally to stop cursing, "Jimin cheated on me." Oh, and also impregnated you. But maybe you'd tell that story some other day. You could hear a small gasp escape his lips. "I… I didn't know, I'm so sorry… Hobi-hyung didn't tell me that… I'm so incredibly sorry… do you want me to come over right now?" the rage that went through you told you to blow up on the spot, but you tried to calm yourself. The epinephrine that ran through your veins was enough to make you go crazy, you wanted to teach Taehyung a good lesson, but none of it was his fault and you had to understand that fact.

He was not informed on the matter, none of it was his fault. You sighed heavily. You'd deal with Jimin later. "It's okay, Taehyungie. You don't have to. And I forgive you. I'll take care of this, it's fine. Have a good day… and let's meet up this coming Friday, hm?" you smiled a little, which even surprised you, because your anger was beyond imagination at the point, but your ability to still smile settled the storm inside you. "Yeah… I'm still sorry. See you then." The call ended.  A soft sigh escaped your lips. Well, another problem to take care of.

"So… what do we do now?"

"Let's pray and just hope Jimin doesn't show up at the door this Friday."

That night, feeling bored, you decided to text Seokjin. You hoped you weren't disturbing him, but then again, even if you were, you loved annoying him so you didn't care. And then again, he'd probably be really annoyed because you were texting him at one in the morning, laying on your bed, your legs basically everywhere, since you couldn't sleep.

[Y/N]: I'm bored :(

To your great astonishment, his reply was instantaneous. Why was he not sleeping?

Seokjin : Do you have nothing to do at 1 in the morning except for texting me? Honestlyyy

[Y/N]: You're the one who's awake at 1 in the morning! What were you doing?

Seokjin : i just put Haneul to bed. He wouldn't sleep until I played his favourite videogame with him and then told him another story

[Y/N]: That's adorableeeeee! What fairytale did you read him this time? ;D

Seokjin : I didn'ttttttt. It was an alien story

[Y/N]: Ya, ya. I bet my feet you probs read him Cinderella and you're just too ashamed to admit that you still like to read stories of princesses

Seokjin : That's a serious accusation. ;( my Haneul doesn't like stories of pretty pink princesses

[Y/N]: I highly doubt that. Anyway..

You debated on whether to tell him of Jimin's arrival to the sleepover or not. But hey, maybe he wouldn't come, right? It was unlikely he'd come to the same sleepover as his ex-girlfriend who he cheated on, right? You hoped so. You weren't going to contact him. It was a matter of your pride, anyway.

Seokjin : Anyway?

[Y/N]: Anyway, I was thinking to give you a nickname and I think I found one.

Seokjin : What?? What is it?

[Y/N]: Princess Jin

Seokjin : That's the worst nickname if I ever heard one! Why do you have to abuse me like that? :(

That night had gotten a-hundred-and-ten-times better because of the response alone. You wouldn't be acting dramatic if you said you chatted for the whole night. You really did. Time just passed by, and you didn't notice till it was five in the morning. At some point, you had started to video-call him too, and then you'd just laugh along with him as he desperately tried to explain his dad jokes. It was at fifteen minutes or so past five a.m, that your eyelids grew heavy, and you drowsily fell asleep, then were awaken by Seokjin, who you had now decided to call Jin for short, when he decided to compliment how cute your 'sleepy expression' was.

You shushed him and decided upon ending the call, hence calling it a day.

By Wednesday, all you two were doing were having little, small talks through texts, because Seokjin had recently gotten a lot of paperwork to take care of, making him very busy. You had asked why he didn't pursue acting, but he simply denied it by saying that he wasn't feeling ready for the spotlight just yet, as he had a child to take care of, and pretty much no one (except for his cousin, who'd sometimes help if she wasn't busy) to help him take care of Haneul.

That, and also the fact that success wasn't always guaranteed in the profession of acting, and he lacked the amount of confidence he needed. Basically, he wasn't prepared as of yet for the life of an actor. So he decided to do an office job instead, which Jimin had been very generous with (as you had expected to hear). Since Seokjin didn't have a degree in engineering, an office job was hard to find, but an online application led him to a high-income job, which was apparently under the supervision of your ex-boyfriend.

Seeing Seokjin share all of this, you came to realise how deep a person's life is, that every human on the planet had their own problems, relationships, responsibilities and so much more to take care of. It made you smile, seeing how Seokjin was doing everything solo, yet he was doing well. Of course, he wouldn't mind company, and it would be better if he did have it, but who'd do that?

His smile made you feel lose you were flying to cloud nine, and his laugh made you laugh. It was adorable, and his personality was the most purest thing you had heard of. You could hear him ramble everyday, and still not get bored. Instead, you'd be willing to hear even more. He was… fascinating. You loved him. Or well… you loved his personality. That's what you told yourself, at the very least. Sometimes, at some of his compliments, your cheeks would burn so red, your heart would race so fastly, your head would feel so blank, and yet so filled with thoughts, that you couldn't explain it, even if you wanted to.

He had made you forget your past. He made you learn that… yes, your past was a part of you. But it did not define who you were meant to be. That was your choice alone, and you were living by the lesson he had taught you.

Not to mention, you had learnt to live. Not exist, but live. Whenever Hoseok was gone for his work, you'd stay home, cook, sing to your baby, and watch television. Whatever you wanted, you'd do. Not because someone was ordering you, but because you were doing it for someone's happiness - happiness that was finally not dependent on someone else's - happiness that had recently started to matter. Yours. And maybe Seokjin's too. He'd told you that he wanted to see you smile, always.

And you'd be lying if you didn't mention his flirty jokes.

They were getting a little out of hand, yes, but you loved them anyway. And who were to stop you, if you said two could play that game?

On Wednesday, since Seokjin's cousin was out of town, and his co-leagues, who he mentioned were persuasive (and to be truthful, they'd force him a lot too) as hell, had forced him to have a drink or two with them after work. He couldn't come home early enough, and had tasked you with taking care of Haneul. You basically spent the whole day at his home, which was quite cosy if you were to be honest with yourself.

You arrived just in time, after telling Hoseok, at Seokjin's house before he left for work. You'd be spending the day with Haneul, and you reckoned it'd be fun.

It was. Wishing Seokjin a goodbye, you shut the door, and the two of you began playing instantly when the little boy woke up. He was vocal, and he wasn't afraid to tell what he wanted either. But he never behaved rudely once, which, considering that you were pretty much a stranger to him, was a slight astonishment, but you went along with it. You were never one to question life too much, anyway.

His cute, little requests, and fun games were something that could never bore you, even if you were to play with him for a month or two straight, you wouldn't get bored. Like his father, he was always unpredictable, and quite intelligent too. He had tried memorizing some dad jokes from Seokjin as well, which made you melt and 'aww' in ways you had thought were imaginable. He would try to tell you some, but would mostly always fail.

And just like Jin, you got along with him well too.

It was about eight when you tucked the little one into bed, and making sure he was asleep, you quietly closed the door to his little room. He had tried to convince you that he wanted to play more, but at one point, you did have to be a little strict.

You waited for Seokjin in desperation that he'd come soon, sitting on the couch as you fumbled with hair strands. You were quiet worried, but you took a deep breath, and the door opened, for what seemed like a millennia later.

"Jin!" you got up, but seeing his disheveled creature came as a rude shock to you. His hair was all messy, and his face was all hazy and distanced, his clothes a bit poked with here and there, but still intact. At first, it almost was like he had been in a fight, taking support of the front door, but you soon realised he was drunk.

Had his co-leagues given him a little too much liquor? You sighed, jumping forward and putting his arm around your neck so he'd have support, since he looked imbalanced. You shut the door behind yourself. "Y/n-ah," Seokjin whined as you tried to move, but with his heavy arm around you, the action was practically impossible.

"Kim Seokjin, for God's sake, atleast try to walk! I know you're probably drunk as hell, but still!" you exclaimed, but made sure that it wouldn't reach Haneul. You tried to walk again, but his weight wouldn't let you.

You dragged yourself to the couch, him alongside you. This made you realise what a victim you were in the situation. Taking care of his kid, cooking food, and now carrying his drunk ass? You were pregnant but no one took care of you. You felt a little bad for yourself.

You plopped him down on the couch before sinking down yourself. Looking at his wrecked figure, and the dreamy expression it held, you couldn't help but let your breath be taken away for a bit. For some awkward reason, it made your cheeks heat up. "Jin, are you… okay?" it was a rhetorical question, but that was the most you could ask. "Do you want water?" you asked softly, running a hand through his silky, black hair. He purred like a cat at your touch, making you even more flustered. So was that a yes or no? You weren't very sure.

His arm, which was laying here or there previously, wrapped itself around your waist, making the distance between your bodies even smaller. You tried to get out of his grasp, though however he was drunk, he clearly didn't like the idea of you escaping, so now you were stuck.

But even in that simple moment, you couldn't help but admire his beautiful features. His plump, pink lips, his smile, his hair, his eyes, which were shut lightly for now - everything. It was devilishly handsome to you and you couldn't deny it even if you wanted to. "You're very nice, you know?" he murmured, his lips barely parting. You looked to him in confusion. "I know, Jin, but seriously! Get up and go to your bedroom," you were about to say further, going along the lines of, 'get some rest and I'll prepare for your dinner,' but he had interrupted you.

"Am I in trouble if I don't?" you didn't know what he meant, but by the grin on his handsome face, you might be getting the wrong ideas. "You… yes, y-you are!" you exclaimed at a loss for words, thanking God you had put Haneul to bed before this wreck came in.

You didn't know what you were to say. You had not carried many drunk people in your life - and you had never been particularly interesting in drinking anyway. Most of the time, you'd take care of Jimin when he drank a bit too much at times, but that was Jimin and this was Seokjin. Two different people, who had very different roles in your life.

"Bring it on."

You stared at him in confusion, almost about to punch him before you realised once more, that he was still drunk and it was the alcohol speaking, not his pretty, blunt mouth. You sighed. "Jin, I swear I'll kill you once you're sober, just…" you groaned, getting him to stand up and dragging him to his bedroom, and, this time, he listened to your commands and followed whatever you had to say.

Taking him inside, you were about to tuck him into bed too, but his arm was still around your waist. "Okay… J-Jin…" you debated on how to tell him he had to sleep, with his breath tickling the crook of your neck, chills ran down your spine. The situation seemed a lot more awkward when you pictured him in that way, and your heart only began to beat faster. Your hands, turning cold and ghostly pale from nervousness - or anticipation for what was next - you did not know.  You felt a little too vulnerable, your body against his, his arm around your waist - it all felt a little wrong.

You didn't know what caused the heat to rise to your cheeks. A thought bloomed inside of your mind, as if it was put aside for being ridiculous but was now possible - the idea of being in love with him. Were you? No matter how hard you shook yourself, told yourself that you were not, it all made sense to you. Why you'd start a smile like an idiot on an otherwise bad day, when you read his text. How'd you laugh around him a little too much, your heart would feel tugged on when he came near, or when you saw his beautiful face and just wanted to stare at it for an eternity.

Or how'd you feel warm and fuzzy with him around, how he'd make you feel safe and protected - it all came back in a circle. This exciting, warm feeling that enveloped you in its sweet embrace - love. It was a hard thing to explain, but if you were to describe it in one word, it'd be Seokjin.

And suddenly, it felt as it was all possible - like you owned the world. Looking up at him, you noticed that his eyelids were heavy, his sclera barely visible. Staring at his soft, pink lips, you couldn't look away. His cute, gentle expression that told you he was sleepy - it all made so much impact on you in a second. But you couldn't. It was all wrong, whatever you wanted to do. And not to mention, stupid. Or that's what you thought anyway, until his voice caught you off-guard.

"Taeyeon…?" it was barely inaudible - it would be if you weren't standing this close. But the name stopped your plane of thought. It was a mere whimper that made you realise how cold, and quiet the whole room was. In fact, it was chilling and dark, leaving you scared. If that fact came as an astonishment, the way he uttered a woman's name left you astounded. It sounded desperate, almost as if he was begging her to not leave him.

You shouldn't have thought of kissing him in the first place. It was stupid, and foolish to think you had any chance with a guy you had barely met, and with someone as wonderful as Seokjin. He needed someone who could fix his broken heart, not deepen the cut by being a broken person, such as yourself, themself. You wanted to hug Seokjin, because the way he sounded made you almost pity him. What hell had the poor guy been through? You wished you could've known more, but then again, you had no rights to.

You wondered why you started to fall for him anyway, when you didn't even know that he was seeing someone else. You blamed yourself for not knowing a lot. Sighing, you turned towards Seokjin, chewing on your lower lip. There were a million emotions inside you, but emptiness had never weighed heavier. It made you want to throw up, to dig a hole and bury yourself in it. Your heart could barely be held in your chest, and it felt like blowing up. Never having felt such a way, you didn't know what to do. The only time you felt such empty ache was when you broke up with Jimin. You never wanted to go through it again.

And yet still, you were experiencing it. An ache so deep, it cut through you, shattering you and poisoning your body. You could barely hold Seokjin. "S-Seokjin, please," you pleaded, fumbling with the hand he had around your waist. It took a few tries, and you were about to give up and try another method, which was most likely to awake him from his drunkenness, but he let go eventually.

Lowering him to the bed, you tucked him in, pulled the blanket over him so he wouldn't get cold in this time of October, and quietly shut the door behind you. You debated on whether to get him food, and decided upon leaving it in the refrigerator so he had something to eat when he woke up. You wrote a note, telling him of the awkward incident and that you had left food for him, leaving it on the table. After completing the task, you took your leave with a heavy heart.

By the time you reached home, it was ten, and after saying your farewells to Hoseok for the night, you went to bed instantly, your eyelids heavy. You didn't notice immediately how tired you were, but you were very sleepy. A yawn escaped your lips, and with the last thought of Seokjin, you took a step into dream land, hoping that the next day would be better than the last.

Thursday went by very quickly. You did your normal work - singing, watching television, cooking, cleaning around the house and whatnot - and the day came to an end rather fast. After having dinner with Hoseok, as you both sat down in the living room to watch some dramas together, your phone ringed. You reached out to grab it from the table beside the couch, and checked to see who it was that was calling you.

"It's Seokjin," you told Hoseok, getting up and leaving to the hallway. You didn't notice when you had started calling him by his first name again, because if you were to be honest, you two were getting along well and you were on nickname-terms, but the incident yesterday just reminded you of how much distance lied between you two, albeit being so, very similar.

"What is it, Seokjin?" you asked, your tone rather cold. You didn't know why it came out like that, because you still considered him a friend, but apparently your heart thought otherwise. "I'm so sorry about yesterday!" as you expected. You sighed, already done with the conversation. At least, you didn't write about how he called out a woman's name and made you feel so little.

"It's fine." Your reply was still as cold, and you weren't sure why you were blaming the ordeal at him, because even you knew that it wasn't his fault, yet your heart made him the culprit of such emotional distance you had acquired. "Let me make it up to you, please, Y/n," you heard Seokjin as he pleaded. The heart was a naïve and biased thing, Jin. If only he understood. "It's fine, I told you," you responded, not wanting to talk about the night. It brought back bad memories.

"Please! Who knows what other, weird things I did while I was drunk? I'm so sorry," you shook your head. "What're you planning?" like you had thought. The heart really was a naïve thing. "I'm... hmm, how about this… since we're having the sleepover this Friday, let me pick you up and we'll go and grab some snacks for it?" you stayed silent. "My treat! I'll pay for everything we'll buy," you were still not fully agreeing with it. He had to pay a little more than just that for what he did to your heart. "I'll bring Haneul too, so he'll buy snacks with us as well, okay?! Happy?" you smiled, something that happened for the first time in a while, at his desperation, but also at the fact that he was bringing the little cutie along. Something inside your heart changed automatically.

"Happy. Now we have a deal, so come over at about eight, 'kay?"

"Your wish is my command."

That Friday night, Seokjin parked his car at your door, and saying goodbye to Hoseok, who was getting the living room ready for watching movies, as well as arranging the house for sleepover, you jumped out to greet Seokjin and Haneul. Sinking down next to the driver's seat, with Haneul cheerfully sitting in the passangers' seat, the three of you left towards the nearest supermarket.

Upon reaching there, you grabbed Haneul's hand excitedly and started to wander around the aisles, with Seokjin trying to follow behind you. "Yah! Y/n, slow down!" Seokjin exclaimed, barely able to catch up, but you couldn't hear him when the sight of the snacks hit you. "Jin! Stop being a slow bloke and come!" you replied back, then started to grab as many chips and other things you could, towering the bunch on Seokjin, then on yourself, and then having Haneul pick up a bottle of juice, since you weren't the biggest fan of alcohol.

Going to the counter, the moment reminded you of how you had met Seokjin in the first place. It made you smile like an idiot. "You know, this is kind of like how we met." You heard him laugh lightly. "You're right. Who'd figure that simple thing would bring us here?" he smiled softly, then reached for the counter and put all the stuff that he had been holding. You did too, and taking the bottle from Haneul, you put it on the counter. Seokjin paid, and taking the plastic bags in which the snacks had been kept, hand-in-hand with Haneul, you left for the exit.

Such little moments brought you so much happiness. You all looked like a family. It was a little ironic, you wouldn't lie. You sat down in the car, the plastic bags kept at the back with Haneul. "How many months are you gone?" the sudden question from Seokjin left you a little surprised, but you answered it, relentlessly. "About one and a half months now. Actually..." it was as if something dawned over you. Your body felt unready for the act, and you grew silent.

"Actually?"

"Hoseok told me about this test…" you bit your lip.

"What test?"

"The early gender DNA test. It's done at… I think, eight weeks in?" you answered, deep in thought. You didn't have to do it, but how far were you willing to go for your baby's gender to be revealed? You did want to know if it was a boy or girl. But the fact reminded you a little too much of Jimin. It filled you with this sudden emptiness, it was unexplainable, but it left you starving. You wanted the father to accompany you to such an occasion, but… was that even possible now?

As the silence drifted longer, you let out a heavy sigh. "You don't have to do it," you heard Seokjin say. "I know. But I want to know. But at the same time, I don't. You get what I mean?" you sighed again, feeling suddenly so down. Maybe it was because you were hormonal. Who knew? "Two more weeks, and I get to know my baby's gender. But it feels… way too early. I'm not ready," you continued. "I mean... I thought if something like this were to happen, Jimin would be with me."

Seokjin silently listened to you, but after you had said that and became quiet, he spoke up.

"I can go with you. Of course, Hoseok can go too. I get that you'd want him to go with you rather than me, he's your best friend, so…" his sentence drifted off into the silence. Why was the car ride suddenly so long? You nodded lightly at his words. "You can come. I'm... sure you'd like to know if it's a boy or girl," your lips broke into a gentle smile, thinking of a little child running around you.

"I just… kind of wish Jimin was here."

His name reminded you that Taehyung had accidently told him about the sleepover, and he may be at home for all you knew. "By the way… we might see him at the sleepover. We're in the same friends' group. One of my friends accidently let it slip, he didn't know that he had cheated on me, so… mayhaps, you will meet your boss tonight," you snickered, hoping you were wrong in desperation.

Seokjin parked the car at your house as you finished your statement and looked at you. "I'm not ready now," you rolled your eyes at his response. "He probably didn't even come. He doesn't want to waste his time, so…" you got out of the car, saw Seokjin as he grabbed the plastic bags and Haneul, and opened the door to enter inside.

The atmosphere was completely different - the house was dark, but some light entered through windows and the television was on.

"Y/n!" Jungkook's voice came first, and he hugged you tightly. You rolled your eyes, but you missed the little guy's, who wasn't so little anymore, embrace a lot. "Hey Kookie," you ruffled his hair, then parted to look at his face. He had grown up a lot since you had last seen him. Everyone had.

You looked around the house, seeing the older versions of Namjoon, the smart and intellectual one of your group back then, Yoongi, the one who slept through most of the classes and still got good grades, Taehyung, whose boxy grin never disappeared but he had certainly matured, and Hoseok. You introduced everyone to Seokjin back and forth.

But there was someone who he didn't need to be introduced to.

Jimin.

He was here. All along, he was here. And he wasn't alone, for God's sake. He had brought Minhee over. A great way to start off the night. "Seokjin?" his voice shook you, bringing tears into your eyes for some reason. It was the same as ever, but just one of shock. "Ah, Jimin. Nice to meet you," Seokjin put Haneul down, who automatically came creeping to you, and flashed a smile towards Jimin.

"How are you here?" Jimin raised a brow, as the area began to become less populated, with people wandering the house here and there. You didn't move. Partially because there was a child clinging to you, and also because you just couldn't. You were frozen. You could make out Jimin and the girl latched around his arm in the dark. It hurt a little to see that you were not her.

Maybe you were still not fully over him as you had thought. "Don't they look like a family?" Minhee's voice, high-pitched and soft, broke through the silence that had settled after Jimin's question. You just realised how close you were standing to Seokjin, and with Haneul clinging to you, you hardly doubted it didn't look like that.

"Ah, Jagi, even if they did, they aren't really a family."

Jimin's response didn't quite register right the moment it left his plump lips. You raised a brow, taking your eyes off of Haneul for once. The statement offended you in a way. Had he forgotten you were still carrying his child?

"Actually, we're together," the reply left you too quickly as your hand found Seokjin's. You were a little flustered when it came out, and the way Seokjin's hand went stiff in your embrace made you heart stop. Originally, you had meant to make Jimin jealous, but it became very wrong in only a little moment.

"Are you?" Jimin asked, his voice taken aback, rather quiet. You bit your lip, getting a little heated up. You took a deep, uneven breath. "Y-Yeah. We've been dating for a few days. Anyway, I need to go check up with Hoseok about the snacks, and… I think, you should show Haneul around the house, Jin," you tugged on his sleeve as you said the last few words, and then took your leave, picking up the bags of snacks. Seokjin helped you drop it off in the kitchen, where he set them off on the counter.

"What do you think you were doing back there?" he asked, a light frown on his face. You groaned, massaging your temples a little. "I'm under a lot of stress, okay?! I don't know what I did, I'm sorry, alright?" you responded, sighing heavily. "I couldn't have him show us up like this, I'm," words left your mind when Seokjin rested his hands on your shoulders. You saw Haneul running towards the living room.

Unlike the rest of the house, atleast the kitchen was lit up.

"It's fine. You're fine. It's okay," he looked at you in a reaffirming manner, smiling softly. "I'm here." You put your hands around his waist, your head against his chest. It felt like tugging at your heart. His embrace calmed you down. You closed your eyes, taking his scent in. Unlike the time he was drunk, his hug was warm and supportive, with his arms around your waist. "Thank you."

Hoseok came rushing in, but the sight made him freeze. You blinked at the doorway, staring at him in abrupt surprise. Feeling the heat rush to your cheeks, you let go of Seokjin and he let go of you, breaking the hug. "What just-?" Hoseok began to say, but Seokjin cut him off. "I'm going to go check up on Haneul," he said, as if nothing had happened and he wasn't effected by the awkward atmosphere. Giving you a sly smile and a wink that stole your heart, he left the kitchen.

Hoseok smiled innocently, coming to the counter, where you were standing. You didn't speak a word, still surprised by the crazy person Jin was. The way your bestfriend batted his eyelashes told you that he was thinking the opposite of what was reflected on his face. You crossed your arms, your cheeks burning more by the second. "I didn't know you two were that close," he said casually, taking a look in the bags you had brought. You rolled your eyes at his tone, then frowned.

"The worst thing isn't even that!" you were so used to having him know your feelings, that you couldn't help but tell him whatever had happened between the two of you these few days. "And now I just told Jimin that we're together! I wanted to make him jealous, I didn't want him to make fun of Jin, but now… it's all over the place," you finished. "And that's not even the worst thing."

"Then what is?"

"I think I'm falling for Jin."

The look Hoseok gave you was ridiculous, and on any normal day, you'd have a lung punctured because of it, but today, it just hit different. "Are you… sure?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "If so, just confess," he continued, taking out the juice bottle. "And ruin my already-so-perfect-not-friendship with him? No," you frowned, sighing. "Well, someone's got to make the first move, right?" he gave you a little smile. "I mean, yeah, but wasn't it obvious when I spoke up against Jimin, telling him that we're together?" you frowned even more, your brows knitting together.

"Some people need the confirmation, Y/n."

It was a while before the game began; the game everyone loved at these sorts of gatherings. While Jungkook thought that it was a little too much for his innocent eyes, and volunteered to take care of Haneul, the rest of you played the ominous game everyone knew by the name of, 'truth or dare.'

Jimin and the girl, Minhee, went mostly ignored after you told everyone of how he had cheated on you and how you were pregnant, while he and his new girlfriend enjoyed some drinks. Thankfully, all the guys supported you.

But back to the game. Sighing, you watched the bottle spin, and the mouth landed towards Seokjin, while the other side landed on you. This did have you pique some interest, you wouldn't lie, because the previous dares and truths had been either childish, or just completely gross - most of the gross ones came from Minhee, as you had imagined it to go.

"Truth or dare, Jin?" you raised a brow. "Truth," he replied firmly. You smiled slyly. You wondered what you wanted to ask, and there weren't many except for, 'do you love me?' but you wouldn't get the real truth out of him anyway, since Jimin was sitting there and you needed to pretend as if you were a couple and stay true to your words. It sucked how there were truths and real truths nowadays. Truths were supposed to be just… truths.

"Who's Taeyeon?" the next question was a valid one, and everyone beside you and Seokjin went 'ohhh'. It's as if the expected this to be a 'how to catch a cheater', but you weren't even together, so it didn't matter. You just wanted to sincerely know. Maybe you'd get to shield your heart before it is stepped on again. You looked at the person-in-question, who looked conflicted, but most of all, surprised. "How did you-?" he began asking, but you cut him off. You didn't want to tell him the truth, but there was no point in hiding it. "You… you muttered the name when you came back that night… after you got drunk."

Another wave of 'ohhh' went around the room, and you were honestly getting tired of it. This wasn't something that was going to escalate into a break-up scene, and yet everyone was very interested. Jimin's amused expression made you feel even more down, as if the question wasn't enough. Your ears had been waiting to hear the answer, and still, Seokjin remained quiet.

"Haneul's mother."

The response made your heart stop. You stopped breathing for a second, the thoughts that were about him seeing someone else completely disappearing. A few moments of silence passed. Nodding, you accepted that your suspicions were wrong. Understanding Seokjin's reaction, you beckoned everyone to continue with the game.

The mouth landed on you next. You groaned, seeing as the person who was on the other end was Jimin.

"Truth or dare, Y/n?"

You bit your lip. "Dare." You were feeling risky, you wouldn't lie. But you had asked for a little too much.

"I dare you to kiss the most attractive man here."

You stared at Jimin, finding his words heavier than you thought. Without even thinking, your eyes wandered to Seokjin. His eyes locked with yours in an instant, and you gulped. What had you put yourself through?

Trying to calm your racing heart, you simultaneously moved towards Seokjin, a little scared. You had thought of it doing this before, but now that you actually had to, you felt unsure. With everything that had transpired between you, this would only make your whole relationship a lot more complicated. Seokjin looked on with widened eyes, not moving a bit. You felt bad for him, and yet, you had thought of this before too. You sighed, whispering in his ear, "I'm really sorry."

With every bit of courage left within you, you forced Seokjin to turn his handsome face towards you, and cupping it with your hands, you closed the gap between his pink lips and yours, pulling him into a kiss. You wanted him to know your true intentions - how it hurt to kiss him like this, because you weren't really his girlfriend, and yet how you'd do anything to convey that you did want to be with him.

A round of applause and multiple squeals were heard by you, but you focused on the kiss, making it longer than you intended to. Seokjin's frozen posture scared you, but at last, you pulled apart, feeling nervous and awkward. Slowly, and quietly, with your cheeks burning red, you went back to your original seat. You were too scared to lock eyes with him for the rest of the game.

But still, the play continued on relentlessly. At one point, you were even asked who you would date if you weren't 'dating' Seokjin already, and you replied honestly with, "I'd… I'd date Jimin," which gave him the satisfaction he had been searching for from the beginning, and you could see how Seokjin glared at him. It made you smile like an idiot to see his protective nature.

He didn't let Jimin come near you even once.

Later that night, you munched on some popcorn, your eyes unwavering, staying on the television screen. The seating arrangement, went something along the lines of this. From left to right, sat Hoseok, Minhee, Jimin, you, Seokjin, with Haneul sitting on the ground next to your feet, who was occasionally being playfully troubled by Jungkook, who was sitting on the ground next to him, and then Namjoon sitting on one of the arm of the couch, and Yoongi on the other.

Jimin's presence was very much unwanted, but nothing could change the fact that he was a part of your group before hell emerged, and you supposed cheating on you after impregnating you wasn't going to cut him out either. He was just as much of a part in your group as he was several years ago.

You all watched the decided horror movie - great for couples who wanted to have fun - by which you meant Jimin and Minhee, and bad for... well, you couldn't call yourself and Seokjin a couple, but bad for people with sexual tension. The whole time you were debating whether to hug him after you somehow got frightened or not. Sitting next to Jimin was also, personally, making you very anxious. But it wasn't until you heard some noises from beside you that your breath got stuck.

Apparently, the 'couple' was snogging rather than watching the movie itself. Probably why, in the earlier stages of the movie, you heard Minhee yelp and whimper, meanwhile, for quite some time now, the two remained quiet. It seemed like everyone else heard it well too, and you got the feeling of being sick to the stomach. Something building up inside of you. Like you wanted to puke. Maybe that's exactly what you wanted to do.

Hoseok, who was sitting next to Minhee, opted to sit on the ground instead. You heard Namjoon cough a little, probably to gain the couple's attention and stop them from going further, but Jimin and Minhee only took further advantage of the facts that, one, the room was dark, and two, that you all were such pacifists. Any moment, you thought Seokjin would pick Haneul up and leave the room, and your assumptions were increasingly becoming more true as his body stiffened.

It was in the middle of the movie that he had heard the end of it.

"Can you please stop the movie?" he asked Hoseok, who nodded lightly and paused it. You saw Seokjin as he went over to turn on the lights. Jimin and Minhee were all over each other, but you were thankful that it hadn't gotten any more crazier than just some really passionate kisses. You signalled Jungkook to pick Haneul up and take him somewhere else, which he understood and did so. The little child could do without seeing whatever was going to happen.

The atmosphere was thick enough to cut with a knife. Yoongi was glaring on Jimin like there was no tomorrow, and Hoseok, naturally passive, was fumbling madly with the remote in his hand. Namjoon stayed as quiet as ever, and Taehyung tried busying himself with some popcorn. You felt uneasy beyond explanation, and you low-key wanted to just get up and leave the room, but you couldn't and you knew it would be childish to do that. You had to stand up and become independent for once. Getting up, you didn't leave the silent room, but instead went over to Seokjin to check up on him. He was still standing near the switch, still as ever, and you assumed he was trying to calm himself.

Seeing him like this, you couldn't help but let a pang of regret and guilt wash over you. After all, it had been your idea to invite him, and you were the one who decided to share the news of Jimin coming over later than sooner, even if it wasn't confirmed. Grabbing his hand, even if you knew he really needed less of you right now, you looked up at him with your eyes full of hesitation. "Are you okay?" you whispered, tilting your head. You wished you could be more of a comfort, but you knew how uneasy Seokjin must be.

"I'm sorry but," you watched him turn to the other guys and Minhee, but his hand remained intertwined with yours. Your heart did hurt at the situation, but it was scared for what was to come. But no matter what your mind could've thought of, it couldn't have prepared you for the outburst that was next.

"Do you really have no shame?" Seokjin's voice sounded conflicted, as he walked towards Jimin and Minhee, dragging you with him. Your breath got caught into your throat. You froze in the position, the only part of your body that was moving was the hand that held Seokjin's. You squeezed his hand out of anxiety, not wanting to be in the center of everything, and yet here you were. The room remained quiet, a deadly silence engulfing all of you, till Jimin spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I meant that, could you really not wait till you got to the bedroom or whatever arrangements were made for sleeping? If not for a comfortable atmosphere here, at least be patient for the innocent child that was sitting amongst you?" the response left everyone in the room silent. No one spoke a word after what Seokjin had said, and your hands were turning colder with every passing second. Jimin had, thankfully, untangled himself from his now-girlfriend, thought that did not help to make the situation any lighter.

Your heart swelled at the question. It showed the endless care Seokjin gave to Haneul. If anything, it made you appreciate him even more. It was in this moment you realised what an inspiring being he was - hard-working, caring, independent, with the right set of morals, his priorities were made clear, and he wasn't afraid to speak up for what was right and for what mattered to him. He wasn't going to suppress his opinions and deem them unimportant just because he was fighting against someone who was in a higher position than him. It showed real strength and bravery. Fighting for what was right despite the dangers involved.

"This is no way to treat a guest, though," Jimin's brows furrowed. "The whole time, I and Minhee have been being ignored and treated as slaves of a sort! It's still happening," you rolled your eyes at the reply. This time, it wasn't Seokjin who spoke up. It was Yoongi.

"Maybe if you didn't treat Y/n the way you did, this wouldn't be happening."

Silence - heavy and immensely cold silence. You wanted to shout at Yoongi for bringing you into the fight and yet, you would've given him the same answer. If he didn't treat others nicely, how could he have expected to be treated right? It didn't make sense to you and you wanted to slap some sense into him, but you knew it was impossible, for he wouldn't learn. "You could've told me if you didn't want me here."

Jimin got up, taking Minhee alongside him. Passing by Seokjin and you, he muttered words you couldn't ever let escape your mind.

"And you're fired, Seokjin-ssi."

It had been two weeks since then. Seokjin had left Hoseok's home that night with Haneul, and he hadn't contacted you ever since then. Thanks to Jimin, your friendship with Seokjin had taken a one-eighty degree turn for the worse, and the worst thing was that you couldn't stop it, because he had basically decided not to talk to you.

Everyday was filled with fuming rage and frustration that he still hadn't called you. Not a single day went by when you wouldn't whine about the fact, and you knew Hoseok was getting sick of your temper tantrums, which you basically threw everyday, and on poor him too.

"Y/n! Calm down for a second, will you?" it was a Thursday evening when Hoseok had grown a little too tired of it to keep it all inside him. You didn't blame him for this, as much as you hated it, your mood changes and the temper that had consumed you wasn't letting go of you. Likely due to your preganancy, but you didn't bother with the reasons much. "I'm sorry, okay?" you huff, crossing your arms and sinking down on the couch. "I'm tired of him not picking up the gazillion times I've called him, or not responding to any of my messages! And tomorrow we're going to find out the gender, are we not? He wanted to come too!"

It was going to be your two-month-mark tomorrow, which meant you could take that test Hoseok had told you about. You didn't care if Jimin wasn't there with you anymore; Seokjin had to be. Somebody had once said that someone's absence made the heart fonder. It had certainly made you realise the impact Seokjin had on your life, and once, you even wondered if you could live it without him.

He had made you so happy - just to leave you here in the dark. You didn't know how you got where you did, but picking up your phone, you looked at the spam of texts you had sent him. You were surprised he hadn't blocked you, and the thought made you snicker. You really were a pesky, little thing for him.

[Y/N]: Jin?

[Y/N]: Seokjin?

[Y/N]: Are you receiving these textsssss

[Y/N]: God, I miss you, please forgive Jimin :(

[Y/N]: I'm so sorry for everything he did and I know he fired you and all, but please respond to me

[Y/N]: At least tell me you're okay!

[Y/N]: Seokjinnnnnn

[Y/N]: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!! Please don't ignore me

You weren't even scratching the surface with those texts. There were a million more, but your hands didn't have the energy to scroll up to see those. All held the same message - forgiveness and to not ignore you anymore. You weren't even sure if he had seen these, but you knew he was definitely ignoring your calls. Unless he was in the bathroom everytime you called. Which was, in your opinion, impossible.

"Y/n, if you're so desperate, we can go to his house but I doubt he wants to see you right now." Hoseok's answer made you turn to him in surprise. "Really?" without further thought, you agreed to your bestfriend's offer, changed into something nicer, and buckled up.

Your heart wanted nothing more than to see Seokjin's handsome face right now. It was longing to see him, practically being tugged to his house from the very first week. But you were willing to give him a chance to speak to you over phone back then, and Hoseok wouldn't agree to take you there, no matter how much you pleaded him. He had truly astonished you with the sudden exclamation that you could go to Seokjin, but you did not mind one bit.

Everyday, you had thought of doing this - going to meet Seokjin, but life wouldn't let you. Now that you were going, your heart was racing at a very fast pace. You were nervous, yes, but also very excited to see him again. Maybe he only saw you as a friend, but you couldn't deny your feelings for him. He was the most beautiful thing you had seen - just thinking of how he made you feel was enough to make you tear up.

It felt like a millennia had gone by since you had heard his sweet voice - since you had seen his gorgeous face - since you had met someone as caring and loving as him. Your heart was heavy and impatient as Hoseok parked in front of Seokjin's house.

"Would you like to come in too?" you ask him, but he politely declined, saying that he'll wait for you outside instead. Mustering up all your courage, you got out of the car and left for the door.

It was a beautiful night. You hoped it symbolised new beginnings, hope for the future. You hoped it meant that your relationship with Seokjin would strengthen instead of fall apart tonight. Appreciating the twilight sky, you looked down at the polished door, and then, taking a deep breath one last time, you rang the bell.

You stayed utterly quiet as you waited for the door to open. You looked back to see Hoseok staring at you expectantly, letting your nerves get the best of you. It was in that moment that the door opened, making your heart skip a beat.

"Y/n?" there it was. The sweetest of voices - smooth like honey, it sounded like one of the most ethereal ones you could hear - almost something you'd hear in heaven. You locked your eyes with Seokjin's dark ones, losing yourself. Your heart felt at home, and a smile found its way to your face. You didn't reply with anything. You could only stare into his eyes and see the warmth in it, adore his heavenly features, and hope he'd want to be friends with you again.

You were willing to be a friend for now, if that's what he needed.

"Hi Seokjin. It's been a while, hasn't it?" you giggle softly, your hands cold but you couldn't be happier than with him. "Do you… want to come inside?" he moved aside and you went inside, your heart feeling fulfilled. "I was wondering if you were okay? You haven't been answering my calls or responding to my texts… and I really missed you." You could see how Seokjin tensed up at your words, and at the mention of the incident.

"I... You know, it's fine, things will turn out t-" but Seokjin had cut you off before you could explain anything. "Y/n," his voice was meek as he spoke. "I'm unemployed, for God's sake! I-I don't have any money after I spend the saved up one, and I-I won't be able to feed Haneul in the near future! I-I wouldn't be able to afford anything. T-Then we'd get kicked out and live on the streets…" he stammers, breathing unevenly.

You listened to him in acute silence, taking in each and every word. "Things are not going to turn better. Who's going… to pay for his school fees when he has to go…? How will I buy him his toys…? H-How will I provide for him?" he sat down on the couch, holding his head in his hands. You wished you could have offered him something, something that would fix everything, but nothing came to mind.

"Jimin… he fired me because of the fact that he thought we were together. And because I made him look bad in front of his old friends, but what he doesn't understand is that he was already bad in their eyes!" he exclaims, the words hitting you like a dagger to your heart. A chill ran down your spine. "I'm... s-so sorry…" you whisper, walking to the male and bending down in front of him.

You moved away his hands to look in his eyes. "I…" and then something hit you. Like an explosion, an idea formed in your mind. An alternative way to solve his problems - to fix it all if fortune was on his side. If only he was willing to go through it. There was always a resolution.

"I have an idea."

"What?"

"Follow your dream. Try becoming what you've always wanted to become - an actor."

Seokjin's eyes widened. "You're not serious, are you? Who'll take care of Haneul?" he asks, a horrified expression covering his face, but you could only smile. "What am I here for?" you took your chance. "Look, Jin, I've always… really enjoyed your company. And…" you could feel your heart beating against your chest so violently, that you were scared he'd hear it. "And if you don't like me back, it's fine. I'll still take care of Haneul. And we'll still remain friends. O-Of course, if you want that," you added the last few words hesitantly, stuttering a little.

His response was silence, but it wasn't uneasy. It felt like home. It felt like a welcome back, acceptance. You looked down at the ground, nodding to an unheard melody. Maybe you were accepting the fact that he had no answer for you - because he didn't have feelings for you as you did for him. You could feel his unsteady gaze on you. Getting up, you gave his wide-eyed face a soft smile. "It's fine," you could hear the rejection coming. For once, you didn't need to hear it to know it was a reality. "People fall in love and whatnot," you shrugged lightly, letting a hollow laugh leave your lips.

Your heart was empty and heavy. But your words were lighter than the air that surrounded the two of you. The silent melancholic atmosphere made you smile softly. Another end, another goodbye.

"Wait," his voice stopped you from going any further. "I didn't deny it yet," you looked at him, conflicted by his words. "Then deny it now?" you turned away. "Well… how do I put this…?" he laughed.

"I meant… I can't deny it. I love you. I mean... wasn't it obvious?"

Even the heart mistakened things sometimes.

Especially that one time, when you had given your blood sample to the doctor, so you could find you the gender of the baby as well as see for the possibility of chromosomal conditions. You had definitely thought karma would be giving you a boy, that forever symbolised Jimin in your life, but you couldn't have been more wrong. Approximately, six months later, you welcomed a little baby girl in your arms. It was impossible at the time who she looked more like as - you or Jimin - and you and Seokjin would constantly argue over that playfully, but in the end, life turned out to be a little more happier from then on.

Especially seeing as you had, not only your little girl with you, but also Seokjin and Haneul - symbolizing you were never alone from the very beginning.

[redfoxwritesstuff]

Coffee and A Wedding? Chapter 1

Ello! This week’s Tuesday update is the start of a very long and very late birthday gift to @winterisakiller and @alexakeyloveloki. Ever wonder how many tropes Kit can fit in one series? Better get counting. Ever wonder what Kit uses her extensive coffee knowledge for? This. 

We’re looking at weekly updates on most Tuesdays unless I fill the slot with a one shot. Please do enjoy.

This has made me nostalgic for a man I used to know. He was much older than Clint is in this series but he reminds me a lot about Clint. I think Clint would run a cafe the same way this man ran his. This man taught me everything I know about coffee and is the reason I can’t drink Starbucks and examine the machine before ordering a espresso drink. This man almost gave me his cafe when he retired. Here’s to you, Mr. Green. 

Warnings: Fucking trope-tastic. Eventual smut. Some light angst toward the end. 

Rating: M for eventual smut

Pairing: Clint x ofc, written first person.

Summary: Look, it’s perfectly normal to have a crush on your boss at some point in your life. You can’t tell me you hadn’t had it happen to you, can you? And Don’t tell me you haven’t made up an imaginary boyfriend to tell your family you had while you were away at college so they would stop nagging you, right? Perfectly normal. And surly you’ve based that imaginary boyfriend off your boss/crush, yeah? It’s normal, we’ve all done it once or twice. How was I to know that my sister would show up at the Arrowpoint Coffee to hand deliver our invitations to her wedding with our names printed in pretty swirly golden lettering right into the hand of my ‘boyfriend’. “Oh, I’m so pleased to meet the man treating my little sister so well.” Yeah, I bet you are. “I loved that date you took her on to a movie in the park! So thoughtful!” Yeah, I know you did. Thanks Sarah for letting the cat out of the bag but thank god Clint can roll with the punches. Now, we’ve got to go to a wedding together and pretend to be a couple and he won’t. Stop. Flirting. With. Me. Is this all a joke to you? I KNOW you just see me as a kid who works for you!

Tropes I’m hitting so far: Fake dating, weddings, age difference and so much more. Have a trope you want to see me try to work into this series? Let me know! Seriously, Let Me Know- I’m trying to hit as many as I can and sorry, the are not roommates.

Coffee and a Wedding

I thought of myself as forgettable and that was just all right by me. Even my name was forgettable, at least in my own opinion. It was easier to focus on your schoolwork when everyone sort of just forgot about you. I was lucky to get into a prestigious University and while uprooting my life was a logistic challenge, it didn’t feel like I was leaving a whole lot behind in order to chase the opportunity provided by a full Stark Scholarship.

The money covered all of my school expenses so long as I managed to keep my grades up so in the end, I did a lot of studying. School was expensive for anyone and this school- it was expensive no matter who you were. If Tony Stark and his company want to pay for me to go, I was going to keep it that way. When I wasn’t studying- I was working. The scholarship paid a portion of my rent after school expenses but that was it.

My family didn’t approve of my choice to study biology over medicine and so there was no help from them. It was the need for social interaction from someone not studying all the time like my classmates that drove me to choose a job working in a cafe. Well, that and the oddly decent pay. What can I say? I had quickly grown tired of eating cardboard noodles and beef flavored salt packets.

  From where I stood behind the counter while working, I could see the rise of Stark Tower in the distance. It made me smile, seeing it. The Tower was a marvel of technology and Eco-efficiency, having been off the electric grid for over a month now and showing no signs of failure in it’s power system. While I had no passion for engineering- Biology was where my heart was, I still was fascinated by it.

While the socialization I got working at the cafe was enough to keep me happy, my family was still prone to worrying. They were old fashioned at best, viewing a woman as incomplete without a romantic attachment and I had none. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in anyone, just that I was forgettable and he was both older than me and far too handsome for me to catch his eye. He probably just saw me as one of the kids he hired anyway.

It seemed harmless enough when it first started. Mom would ask me if there was anyone and I’d talk about a man who had his shit together, who treated me right. He had bright blue eyes and soft brown hair that bleached in the sun, giving it a warm golden glow. At first he was just a guy I liked but my family pushed for more.

Ask him out. Are you flirting with him? Make sure you do your hair up nice. Don’t go to class frumpy. Have you kept with your diet? Have you been flaunting your assets? They would remind me again and again that you had to hook a man if you wanted him. Such was not my way, however. I was far too timid to make the first move. And while my family thought he was a classmate though he was older than me, in truth he was my boss.  

It seemed harmless enough as I modeled this man who went from crush to camera shy boyfriend after the owner of the cafe I had been working at. It’s not as if anyone would ever find out. My family would never come out to the city to check up on me and he could be busy when I came home to visit. They could break up and I would be allowed peace while heartbroken. They never had to know and there was no way he would find out. My crush would stay private and they would be off my back for a while. Plus, I could live in the fantastic fantasy of being his girlfriend for a bit.

No one had to know it wasn’t real.

  While I sat by the window in the cafe, sipping at a mocha with the phone pressed to my ear, I listened to mom as she went on and on. In truth, I was only paying partial attention to the words being spoken from halfway across the country.

He was in today, as he was every Saturday. He said he worked them because he had nothing better to do and wanted to allow the kids who worked for him to take turns enjoying their weekends. It was because he worked every weekend that I made a point to offer to work them as well.

“You’ll come to the wedding, won’t you?” My mother asked.

“Mhm” I really didn’t want to go, truth be told. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to see Sarah get married, it was just that I really didn’t want to go back home. Small town gossip would surely claim me as it’s victim yet again.

“You’ll bring that boy you’re seeing, won’t you? What was his name?”

“Clint Barton.” Instantly, I realized my mistake. I hadn’t been thinking. I couldn’t help it, I was too busy looking at him and just blurted out his name. That was how my family got the last name of the man I was secretly in love with.

Still, it was a big city. It’s not like my sister Sarah would hunt down the cafe I worked at by piecing together clues from what little she was able to see about where I worked from the few pictures she had access to in the next week, right?

  I was tired. Somehow I thought it was a good idea to stay up all night studying and truth be told, I was pretty sure I had forgotten to eat all of the day before. I was so damn tired but it was Saturday and I wouldn’t be calling out though Clint wouldn’t have minded.

He had always made a point to tell all the students working for him that our health came first. Our grades came first. We were all trying to make something of ourselves and he respected that. He would say that we didn’t want to end up working in cafes all of our lives like him. He would say as if his cafe wasn’t successful enough to provide a decent enough life for him.

“Good Morning.” I was surprised to turn and see him jogging up behind me as I made my way toward the cafe. Normally he would have already been in the shop by four in the morning to open at five.

“Good Morning, Mr. Barton.” He rolled his eyes at me.

All of his employees called him ‘Mr. Barton’ regardless of his protests. We called him so out of respect for him and all the support he offered us. Many of his employees lacked support from their families for whatever reasons and so he took them in, called them his family. Some were turned out for their sexuality, others for how they wished to identify themselves. There was a girl who’s parents thought her too dumb to be a doctor yet she was starting medical school in the fall and Clint was eager to enrage her each step of the way.

“Clint. My name is Clint.” With a shake of his head, he tried to hide the smile on his face.

“You’re running late?”

“I can’t be late.” He protested, strong hand dramatically held to his chest. The flair for dramatics he often showed always made my heart flutter, though I’d never tell him that. “I own the place.”

“Right.” He smiled down at me as I laughed. The way he looked at me, if I indulged in just a moment of daydreaming while we walked, I could pretend we were on our way to an early morning coffee date.

The weight of his hand settled on my shoulder as we stopped in front of the cafe. He looked at me, studied me and for a moment I feared my crush was written on my face. “Alexis? You look...” Beautiful? Radiant? Like a fire pixie? A dream come true? His soulmate? A girl could hope. “Exhausted. Do you want the day off?”

That wasn’t what I wanted to hear but I wasn’t surprised at all.

“I’m fine, really.” I may just be an employee to him, too young for him to even notice I was sure but still, I didn’t want to miss out on a Saturday morning with him.

“Have you eaten?” As much as I wanted to believe it, I just knew he was asking as a boss, a big brother figure to all his employees and not because I was any more special than any other employee. I didn’t want him to see me as just another employee, a little sibling like he calls all of his employees.

Clint opened the door for me, keyed off the alarm and flipped the lights. “I’m fine. I was just going to grab something on my break.”

“What if…?” He hummed.

“What if what?” I set about taking the chairs off the tables, trying to pretend that I couldn’t feel his eyes on me.

“What if we call in a breakfast order at the diner?” He offered from where he was checking the display case’s temperature readings. “My treat.”

He was always doing things like this for his employees. While we had packaged sandwiches and snacks, he rarely let his employees eat the cafe’s food. I knew better than to try and argue out of it. Still, I didn’t want to leave him to open by himself when he had gotten in late. He wouldn’t hear any of it though and before I knew it, I was set off with a few twenties while Clint opened the cafe on his own.

  Saturday mornings tended to be slow until around seven. The diner was open 24 hours and the early morning breakfast pick up orders were nothing new to them. I often wondered if Clint ever made his own food. He would have food delivered to the back door, if not for the whole staff, at least for himself.

I expected to come back to the cafe with a bag containing the two takeout containers like it was nothing. Admittedly, I was a bit excited about the prospect of maybe getting to sit down with Clint and eat. We’d likely have to take turns getting up and helping customers but it was something. Sure, still not a breakfast date but it was as close as I’d ever get.

The fall air was crisp and the leafs crunched under my feet. It was a good morning, really. The door was cool under my fingers. It opened smoothly, as it did any other time. Clint maintained every inch of the cafe almost obsessively. His employees would joke when he wasn’t around that he was single because of his love of coffee and his love of the cafe. It wasn’t anything he would argue. Clint himself had often said he was married to his shop and that he needed nothing but coffee to survive.

“Babe, you didn’t tell me your sister was going to be in town.” Clint’s voice called out as soon as I stepped through the door. “If I’d known, I would have ordered breakfast for three.”

Turning, I looked around the cafe. Surely I had stepped into some alternate reality. “Mr. Barton?” It took a moment longer for me to realize that Sarah was standing at the counter.

“Come on now, Babe- no one else is in yet.” The smile on his face was memorizing. He was giddy almost as he made his way around the counter. My heart stopped as I realized, Clint Barton called me ‘babe’ twice now. He was making a point. He knew my secrete, at least part of it.

“Sarah, I didn’t know you were coming…” It was a surprise to say the least. “Why didn’t you call? I could have taken the day off.”

“She brought us an invite to her wedding.” Clint held up the ivory colored paper, our names neatly printed in looping gold ink as if it were a prize.

“Of course she did.” I tried not to groan.

“I should let you two get to work. Seeing your boss, so sneaky! No wonder you didn’t want to tell mom more about him.” Sarah wiggled her fingers at us as I joined Clint behind the counter, setting the bag of takeout containers between us. I thought about breaking her fingers for a moment. I loved my sister but she had an amazing talent to grate on my nerves. “I look forward to seeing you at the wedding, Clint.”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” With a wiggle of his fingers and a wide grin splitting his handsome face, Clint waved bye and Sarah turned and started walking out.

We stood in silence as we both watched Sarah walk away through the window. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. This was every one of my worst nightmares come true. It is time to wake up now. Any second now. Yeah no, sadly this was reality.

“Sooo…” Clint let the word hang for a moment. “Want to explain or should I start guessing why your sister thinks we’re dating?”

“I can explain.”

“Good,” He shrugs and I try to read him. Is he mad? Offended? Disgusted? Fucked if I could tell. “Then I can eat while you tell me why I’m going as your date to your sister’s wedding.”

“I swear, I didn’t mean for you to find out.” I sat down as he set our food out. He was acting as if it was nothing. This wasn’t nothing. This was an earth shattering secrete out in the open. Act like it, won’t you?

“Should I be offended by that or not?” Clint poured himself a cup of black coffee and put a steaming mocha down in front of me. He always knew everyone’s preferred drink and while we all knew how to make our own drinks, it seemed to bring him joy to be make them for us. It was just one of the ways he was too damn perfect.

“I mean- When I made up this fake relationship I didn’t think anyone would find out.” I shrugged, not really ready to meet his eyes yet. I prayed for customers to come in to save me.

“And how were you going to handle the wedding?” It may have been easier if he was angry with me.

“I…”

“You?” He taunted, though his voice lacked any real malice.

“I was going to say you were busy. That you couldn’t make it. I figured I’d say we got into a fight after and broke up.”

“Mhm.”

“You know, since you- fake you couldn’t put me first.”

“I guess you only gave them my name then. I thought maybe I was your dream man but I would never do that to you.” It sounded almost like he was dancing around saying something. Surely I was just reading too much into it.

“No, I didn’t- I don’t think you’d do that. I just- It’s hard to keep up the lie and if they think I’m heartbroken I’ve got peace for a bit.”

“Why did you do it?”

“What?” It took a moment for me to realize what he asked.

“It’s not like you can’t get a real boyfriend.” He shrugged, shoveling the rest of his food into his face.

“I just- It got them off my back.” He was just saying that, surely. I’ve had plenty of dating woes and had yet to find a decent man that wasn’t him.

I explained my family, their old fashioned ideas and constant pressure to find a man. That was the whole point of University to them. It was a place for young women to find men with promise to become their husbands. When I tried to play it off as my lack of creativity that resulted in my imaginary boyfriend having the same name as him, he almost deflated.

There wasn’t time for me to dwell on it however. People began to filter into the shop, keeping first him busy while I finished eating and then both of us. The incident was nearly forgotten by the time I had to grab milk and cream from the back cooler to restock the bar after the lunch rush.

“What are you doing after work?” I about jumped out of my skin when Clint’s voice filled the chilled air.

“Studying. Why? Do you need me to work late, Mr Barton?”

“If I’m your boyfriend, shouldn’t you start calling me ‘Clint’?” I cringed as he laughed.

It was as if he didn’t care if anyone overhead him. Spinning on my heel, gallons of milk in each hand I tried to hush him as threateningly as possible. All it really did was cause my hair to fall in my face from the force of my spin. With no hand free I had no choice but to try to blow the hair out of my eyes. It worked about as well as you can imagine until Clint’s warm fingers brushed the hair to the side, letting me see just how close he was.

“I figured we can plan our trip for Sarah’s wedding.”

“Excuse me?” I stuttered out the words. “Our trip?”

“Yeah. To the lovely Sarah’s wedding. I did tell her I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now that they have a face and cafe to go with the name, I can’t let you paint me as the selfish boyfriend who can’t take time off for his girl’s sister’s wedding.”

“Can you even take time off for it? Hell, can I?” I motioned toward him halfheartedly with the three gallons of milk gripped in one hand that was starting to cramp up while he portioned out the coffee grounds for the first of the drip coffee machines, seemingly uncaring that he was blocking the way out of the cooler with a task that normally was done outside the chill room.

“I’ve trained y’all well enough to take off for a bit. I just don’t because I have no life.” Finally, he moved and we both made our way to the counter. In the back, Matt was washing dishes. The sound of metal clanking together and water sloshing around drowned out our conversation. Clint shrugged, slipping the filters into place and starting the coffee machine.

“And me?” I ask, slipping the jugs into the small refrigerator under the counter. “You can’t go to the wedding without me.”

“Duh. You’ve got PTO. Consider your request approved.”

“I didn’t request it yet.”

“But you were going to.” He countered and I hated that he was right.  

The grinder kicked on as I rolled my eyes while pulling out pitchers and two small mugs. With lunch rush over and Matt having done most of the clean up, all I had left to do was watch Clint as he worked. It was one of my favorite things, though I would rather die than admit it to him.

He switched off the grinder, he flipped open the catcher and let grounds fall into the espresso pod before scraping it level with the flat end of the tamper, letting the excess fall back into the grounds container. I watched while he used the tamper to compact the grounds within the pod with a twist of his wrist only to pull the tamper out and knock the side of the pod, knocking grounds off the rim and press again.

It was a science, making coffee. One that he was proud of and had spent time teaching every one of his employees. Each knew how the grind should look, how to adjust the grind, how much force the grounds needed to be packed right, how long it should take for the water to pour through the pod and how the shot should look as it’s pouring. Pouring a bad shot of Arrow coffee simply wasn’t acceptable.

Clint clicked the pod into place in the machine, an old semi automatic that regulated the water temperature and how much water was forced through the pod and nothing more. If asked, Clint would lament endlessly about the death of the manual machine and how all the coffee from the large chains always ended up burnt because they simply trusted their machines and didn’t know what espresso should look like and the grind on those fully automated machines couldn’t be adjusted even if someone knew it was off.

He flipped the switch and set the timer. While the numbers ticked down, he leaned back against the counter and set his blue eyes on me. I hated how damned good he looked, bar rag hanging from his back pocket and sleeves pushed up just over his elbows.

“Pick the dates and I’ll arrange everything.”

“What?” I wasn’t sure I heard him right.

“Pick the dates and I’ll book shit.”

“you’ll book shit?”

“Are you a goddamn parrot?” He laughed and I snapped my mouth shut before stammering some sort of response that he simply talked over. “I’m not going to make you buy my plane ticket. Or my hotel room. And it’s cheaper if we book together so, I’ll book shit.”

“I’ll pay you back for-”

“No you won’t.” The timer beeped just as the machine switched off. “Perfect.”

“What?”

“The shot- it poured perfectly.” Clint poured it into the small ceramic cup I had set out for him and grabbed the cinnamon, adding a sprinkle to the top. “You may have gotten yourself into this mess with a dumb lie but I assure you babe, I’ve done dumber shit.”

I blushed and he gave a cocky smile as he raised his cup at me in toast before downing it as the first customer of evening came into the shop with a sprinkling of more hot on their heels. It was time for that weird midday afternoon rush that happened when it was too late to be called ‘lunch’ anymore. For a solid two hours the only time either of them had to chat was with customers while taking their orders. Still the rest of my shift passed with warm smiles and easy jokes passing between us as if he hadn’t just found out he was my imaginary boyfriend a few hours ago.

  Tag List: @0-0-0-0-0-0-0-7, @theoneanna, @alexakeyloveloki, @winterisakiller, @toozmanykids, @j-u-s-t-4, @missaphrodite23, @nonsensicalobsessions, @bambamwolf87, @tinchentitri, @michelegurl

[lilsmunky]

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy “Christianity is the Default Religion” Month! On the agenda this year:

-“merry Xmas!” From strangers who don’t know or care whether or not you celebrate the holiday

-the same 15 songs on repeat and by various artists and why the fuck do people still like these songs?? You hear it 100x+ EVERY YEAR! How do you NOT find Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer nauseating?

-Rudolph the department store coloring book character with a slapdash backstory returns to remind children that bullies will treat them kindly if they can be useful enough.

-nativity scenes displayed on government property and to the exclusion of other religious iconography, without a hint of self awareness regarding the whole “separation of church and state” thingy we’re supposed to be founded on

-some random pop star coming out with an entire album of entirely new and entirely unnecessary Xmas songs

-me resisting the urge to pour bleach in my ears when I hear “Santa baby” “I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus” or any other song that sexualizes a saint who’s supposed to live to manufacture and distribute toys to children

-Starbucks being bullied into writing “merry coffee” on their cups bc somehow that’s LESS offensive to war-on-Xmas-ers than just plain red

-materialism Suddenly EXTRA sacrosanct

-extra helping of retail store employee dehumanization

-no days off bc “it’s the holidays and we need all hands on deck,” so basically winter holidays are for rich people

-poor kids being led to believe that they are not as good (on a moral level) as their wealthier classmates bc they get fewer/cheaper presents

-Salvation Army using Santa to con people into giving money to their anti-trans organization and songs romanticizing this

-the only time of year that most Christians give to charity or do volunteer work

-wasting electricity

-tree fires in the house bc dry pine needles and old/poorly stored strings lights malfunctioning

-dry pine needles littering the floor by the 15th bc of the new practice of buying a tree in fUCking November

-extra diet talk and fat shaming

-social obligation to maintain contact with family of origin, no matter how shitty they treat you

-people assuming that Hanukkah is the most important Jewish holiday bc it happens in winter, which is the same time of year as Christianity’s biggest holiday

-people asserting that CHRISTmas is not a religious/exclusively Christian holiday

-Big Group Lie to the Children for No Reason and FUCK YOU if you accidentally don’t participate, you must Hate Children if you won’t lie to them for funsies

-socially acceptable to ring a stranger’s doorbell after dark to sing annoying, off-key songs at them and demand snacks/hot beverages like shitty adult trick-or-treaters

-Not Allowed to Hate Christmas even if you have very good reason to bc that makes you a killjoy/Scrooge/grinch/some other made up bullshit and god forbid you shouldn’t participate in festivities that actively make you feel like a garbage fire

-Christians asserting that everybody on earth either Does or Should celebrate Xmas and that we universally think winter is the best season bc some reason

-“There are other religions and people who don’t follow any religion, and perhaps we could acknowledge their existence in some small way” —-> “YOU ARE PERSECUTING ME AS A CHRISTIAN!!!!”

-people ignoring boundaries of all sorts

-people love bells?? I guess? For some reason????????

-I probably forgot some, I don’t keep up on Christian news so Idk what fresh hell to expect. Feel free to add more reasons to dread the season (bc it’s a whole season? I thought Xmas was a thing that allegedly happened on ONE(1) day in actual history?? A week of festivities if you wanna be extra, sure, but why is an entire Month not enough for these people?????)

[jungshookz]

ceo!yoongi

→ pairing: min yoongi x reader 

→ genre: ceo!au, clumsy!y/n because that’s always nice, jimin is ur best friend, floofy fluff, a touch of nsfw aka office sex

→ wordcount: 21k+ so u should probably read this using ur laptop and not ur phone

→ note: inspired by my love for an intimidating yoongi in suits 

(gif isn’t mine!) 

(((and the read more function iS there so if it doesn’t work for some reason i am sorry don’t attack me))) 

“shit, shit, shit, fuck- ow, shit- fUCK”

you scramble around your apartment shoving things into your purse while simultaneously dressing yourself

out of all the days to wake up late

why did todAY have to be one of them???

you have your house keys dangling from your mouth while you wiggle into a pair of jeans aNd your phone is sandwiched in between your shoulder and your ear

“the new boss is going to be here any minute now, where the hell are you??”

“obviously i slept through my goddamn alarm, jimin! i- yes, i’ll be there in like… five minutes. i’m on the bus already”

that was an obvious lie because you’re still trying to find a decent shirt to wear

you end up going with a polka-dotted button blouse

“you better hurry, i hear this guy’s a bit of a hard ass. apparently he fired someone who was only two minutes late to-“

“you’re freaking me out, jimin!!!! look, it’s fine he’s probably just going to introduce himself and then hole himself up in his office so he won’t even notice that i’m late”

your own words reassure you and you slow down to take your time in choosing a pair of shoes

“okay, yeah but you’re his secretary, y/n. i think he’ll notice if his own damn secretary isn’T THERE”

…..he has a fair point

“if you don’t get here in the next ten minutes dinner’s on you tonight” the call clicks off and all you hear is the dial tone

by the time you get to the office it’s 9:23 so you’re officially 23 minutes late BUT you made a stop by the starbucks across the street to grab a soy latte for the new boss

the old boss (mr lin - he was pretty chill but he was alSo pretty old so that explains why the company decided to let him go) would forgive you immediately when you presented a soy latte and a muffin to him

you were sure you’d be fine

“ooh, hold the lift, hold the lift!!!!!” you slip right into the lift right as the doors are about to shut and you let out a sigh of relief because you didN’t spill the coffee thank god

“hey, morning” you turn to give a nod of acknowledgement to the (handsome, very very handsome) stranger standing next to you

he’s dressed in a crisp suit and he’s currently scrolling through his phone but he looks up at you and kind of looks you over before humming in response

his raven black hair looks awfully soft and it’s perfectly styled

and whatever his cologne is…. you’re digging it because he smells goOd

you look up at the little screen telling you that you’re only on the eighteenth floor

the office is on the fifty-second floor and this lift is literally as slow as a snail

you then notice that the stranger is also going to the fifty-second floor

huh

a new co-worker!!

so either you wait in awkward silence with this hot stranger or you try to stir up some conversation

“y’know, i hear the new boss is a bit of a prick.” you snort, glancing over at the stranger. he tenses and his eyes leave his phone but he doesn’t turn

“oh, really? interesting” he shifts and tightens his grip on the folders he’s holding

“mm. and i’m his new secretary so hopefully he doesn’t chew me out for being-“ you look down at your watch “28 minutes late”

“his name’s yoongi. min yoongi. even his name sounds snooty, am i right?” you snort, glancing over again and just tryIng to get some kind of a reaction out of this emotionless person “are you, uh, are you new here?”

usually you’re like super charming but it doesn’t seem to be working on this guy

you glance up at the screen again and let out a breath of relief because you’re approaching the fifty-second floor

“it’s not good to be late, but i admit i’m a little behind on schedule as well. and yes, i’m new.”

“we better hurry otherwise mr min’ll have both our heads on sticks!”

“are you late because you stopped to get a coffee and food?” he raises an eyebrow and looks down at the starbucks cup

“hm? oh, well, kinda. it’s more like an apology drink and a chocolate chip muffin for the boss.” you raise the cup and the paper bag slightly “everyone loves muffins”

the elevator dings and the two of you look up

the doors open and you’re surprised to see… what looks like every single employee just standing in front of the doors

the stranger takes a step out but turns around quickly to face you and you’re kind of like ??

“i’d suggest doing a little more research next time, secretary. i’m not a muffin person.” and then he’s walking out and everyone’s bowing respectfully to him as he introduces himself

it doesn’t hit you until the doors slowly begin to close again and the last thing you see is jimin looking at you with so much pity in his eyes

“you’ve got to be kidding me.”

THAT WAS YOUR BOSS

THAT WAS MIN YOONGI AND YOU TOTALLY JUST

you would be so happy if in this moment the elevator just broke down and sent you hurdling down fifty two floors to your DEATH

you freeze when the doors slide open again but thankfully it’s just jimin standing there

“hey buddy” he approaches you slowly as if you were a ticking time bomb 

“hi”

“….so you met mr min i see”

“mhm”

“and i’m guessing u didn’t know that was mr min”

“yes”

“and i’m guessing u tried to strike up a conversation abouT mr min tO mr min”

“indeed”

jimin has to drag you out of the elevator and you’re as still as a statue as he fixes the collar on your blouse and makes sure your employee lanyard is straightened up

“i wouldn’t have gone with this blouse but i suppose this is presentable enough” jimin gestures towards the long hallway leading to yoongi’s office doors (with your cute little station set up by the doors) before he’s giving you a pat on the shoulder and heading back to his cubicle

you know that scene from the shining

the shot where it’s like a long, long hallway and there are those two creepy twins at the end

this is like that except instead of twins you have your new terrifying new boss’ office

you set your bag down on your chair before turning to the doors

you clear your throat a couple times and look down at the latte and the muffin sitting on your desk

maybe he’ll like the latte

so you pick it back up and you give yourself until the count of three

and then you’re knocking on his door and you hear a muffled ’come in’

you take a second to think over what the hell you’re going to say to him

“mr min i am sO sorry i swear i wasn’t trying to offend you i was just trying to be funny because i thought you-“

and just when you thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse

things get worse

because yoongi just so happened to be standing right by the door as you opened it and of COURSE you knock into him causing the lid to pop off the cup and now the two of you are covered in latte but it’s more you than him thanK god

your face is so red you’re sure you’re going to explode

you don’t even know what to say at this point

“i am……. so-“

“sorry? yeah, i’m seeing a main theme here with you.” yoongi scowls and shakes some coffee off his hand before looking down at his stained louis vuitton button up

this was new but it’s okay because he has 10 ten more in his closet

“i’ll pay for the dry cleaning?” is all you can squeak out because you are just so horrified

yoongi rolls his eyes discreetly while he’s patting himself down with his silk handkerchief

what the hell is wrong with you??? you’re not usually this clumsy and you’re sure you’re like 1 more sorry away from getting fired

“can you just send me my schedule for today?” he sighs as he heads back towards his desk “i’m sure it’s easy enough for you to handle” he mutters condescendingly and you know what you totally deserve that comment so you’re fine with it

“yessir” you don’t even bother asking if he actually wanted a coffee or not because you just want to get out of his fiery gaze

surprisingly the rest of the morning goes by pretty smoothly

he came out of the office wearing a new crisp shirt and you were like dAng this guy’s prepared for any situation

unlike you

because you’re sitting here with your cardigan buttoned all the way up to hide the stain

you keep a smile on your face whenever yoongi passes your desk to head back to his office but after you hear his door shut the smile drops and you always let out a breath of relief

he’s just so…. scary

and he’s your age too

if he was a co worker instead of your boss you were 100% sure the two of you wouldn’t get along at all

and you get along with almost EVERYONE

you’ve never been happier when your phone goes off and tells you it’s your lunch break because you just want to rant to jimin and

“turkey sandwich on whole wheat. lettuce, red onions, avocado, chipotle mayo. the place is called the sandwich station. it’s a block or two down. i’d like a green juice to go with it as well- hold the cucumber. they know my order. you can just tell them it’s for me.”

what the

yoongi literally just materialised out of nowhere

“….i’m sorry?”

yoongi clenches his jaw and you want to CRY

“it’s noon. meaning it’s lunch time. meaning i want my lunch.”

the old boss never made you go out to get a fancy sandwich for him

there’s a canteen here for a reason

they’re serving spinach and potato curry today!!!!!!!! which is your favourite!!!!!! and your lunch breaks are only an hour long and by the time you get back the curry will be gone but maybe you can ask jimin to save you a bite

“is there a problem?”

“no! no sir.” you shake your head quickly and get up from your seat “but, um, just to let you know we do have a canteen here if you ever- okay, yep, i’m going”

jimin’s standing by the lift when you get there and he’s like why did you press the down button the canteen is Up you dummy

and you’re like mr min wants a fancy sandwich and a green juice what kind of sane person likes green juice???

jimin promises he’ll save you a bite of the curry as long as you make it back in time aka fifteen minutes before he inhales it all

you say goodbye to each other in the form of air kisses as you walk into separate lifts

so now you’re sprinting down the sidewalk trying to find this damn sandwich place that isn’t one or two blocks away it’s like TWENTY minutes away according to google maps

you would’ve worn a sports bra today if you’d have known you’d be running

by the time you finally make it there you’re all sweaty and red and you can barely speak

“h..hi, a sandwich and a green juice thing for, um, mr min yoongi??” you look at the notes you scribbled down on your palm even though all the words are smudged from your hand sweat “it’s turkey on whole-“

“for yoongi??? coming right up!!!!” the girl at the counter seems a little too enthusiastic to be making a sandwich and a juice for him….. and she’s on a first name basis with him….

but whatever at least she’s being speedy about it

you check the time on your watch

jimin’s probably already eaten everything

your lunch break ends in half an hour and it’ll take you 20 minutes to head back so that leaves you with like ten minutes

maybe you can get a sandwich from here

you look up at the- oH NO way you are not paying tHAT much for a sandwich

this place is bougie

certainly not for someone with your budget

maybe there’s like a hot dog cart nearby

a hot dog sounds good

“here you go! tell him i said hi. i’m lisa, by the way.” she smiles and you give her a smile back as you take the bag from her

you kind of pause to think and you’re like hMm what do you meAn tell him i said hi,,,,,,

does yoongi have a secret sandwich lover

you don’t have time to think because you are reminded that you are running out of damn time

“thanks for being so fast, lisa. uh, here you go. this should cover it.” you throw the bills that yoongi gave you on the counter before you’re zipping out the door and beginning your little jog back

you feel your phone buzz in your pocket and you already know it’s yoongi wondering where the hell you are

you make it back in tEn minutes thank god but your feet are killing you and you’re sure your blouse is drenched in sweat by now

as you’re walking briskly down the hallway you pick up your pace when you see yoongi standing outside his office and leaning against the frame of the door

“what took you so long??”

“i-“

“there’s no excuse” yoongi snatches the bag from you and shuts the door in your face

you can already hear the chatter of people returning from their lunch breaks

aHHHH

your stomach grumbles and it’s your body’s way of reminding you that HEY quit neglecting M E

maybe you should have splurged on a fancy sandwich

you huff and plop down on your seat

now you’re just hangry and the next person who talks to you will FEEL YOUR FIERY WRATH

“by the way- reschedule my meeting with mr kim to next wednesday. he couldn’t make it today.” yoongi opens his door again and takes a sip of his obnoxious green juice

you spin around in your chair

immediately your lips tug up in a bright smile

“yes sir. i’d love to do that for you.” yoongi looks at you weirdly before he disappears into his room again

wow

where was that fiery wrath

that wrath could barely light up a birthday candle sis

about twenty minutes go by and you actually feel like you’re dying because you’re honestly starving so you decide to text jimin and tell him to sneak some food to you

you technically could just get up and go to the vending machine yourself but yoongi could pop out of his office at any minute and if he sees that you’re not at your desk he’ll definitely have your head

so it’s too risky

to: chimchim - be a pal and bring me a bag of chips or something from the vending machine

jimin jumps when his phone vibrates loudly against his desk and he apologises to his fellow cubicle mates before checking the notification

he can’t help but snort after he reads your message

to: y/n - i’m busy! get it yourself

he’s not surprised that you reply almost immediately

from: y/n - too risky!!!! plus you’re closer to the vending machine

from: y/n - just pretend like you need to print something you can come and use ~my~ personal printer

to: y/n - why would i walk across the floor to use your tiny ass printer

from: y/n - PLEASE i am so hungry i will take care of the laundry this week just get me something to eat before my body starts eating itself

jimin immediately gets up from his seat and heads right to the vending machine

he hates doing the laundry

you want to cry tears of joy when you see jimin’s blonde head bobbing down the hallway from where you’re sitting

“don’t accidentally turn all our white sheets pink agaIN” he teases and he tosses you the bag of chips that you open greedily

he’s munching on an apple himself

he’s always been the healthier one out of the two of you

“how’s the boss?”

you’re immediately triggered

“omg i had to go to this dumb fancy sandwich place and pick up an overpriced turkey club and a green juice for him and then one of the sandwich workers was like obViously wanting me to say hi to mr min for her and i was like ?? what do i look like a messenger pigeon or something” you snort and shove a handful of chips into your mouth unattractively 

“and ALSO he totally got mad at me when i got back because i took too long but it’s not my fault your dumb sandwich place is like a million miles away and another ALSO i’m walking in HEELS-”

“you should invest in a pair of flats, perhaps”

wow

there’s something else to add to your already shitty first impression

you swallow thickly when you realise jimin didn’t say that

you turn around slowly in your chair and you’re met with the intimidating gaze of yoongi

….R U KIDDING

why do bad things happen to good people???

yoongi tosses his trash into the bin sitting by your desk before he’s looking up at a terrified jimin

“is there a reason why you’re here, mr park?”

“…i needed to print something” he swallows his bite of apple and hides it behind his back

“do you not have a printer on your side?”

“it was jammed, sir.” 

“what are you printing?”

jimin blanks and all that comes out of his mouth is

“contra..ct. sir.”

“what contract?”

“this one!! this one” you grab a random sheet of paper of your desk and stand up and shove it into jimin’s chest

“yep, this one! i’ll be on my way, thanks for letting me use your printer y/n!” jimin practically rockets down the hallway to head back to his desk

dang

he barely made it out of there alive

he’s never doing that again

there’s a silence between you and yoongi for a couple seconds as the two of you watch jimin bolt away

you turn around a little to face him with a sheepish smile and you wobble slightly on your heels

“can i trust you to be more responsible and do your work instead of complaining to your friend about your awful boss?”

you open your mouth to reply but you dip your head down in shame

yah

you deserve that one

“sorry, sir” you murmur under your breath and you don’t want to look at yoongi because if you do you’ll definitely burst into tears

and your face is sO hot

you look up when you hear the click of yoongi’s door shutting and you let out a breath before sitting down

okay

time to actually work

you’ll find a way to make it up to yoongi

hopefully

the next morning you make sure to set your alarm like an hour earlier than you usually wake up because this day has to go PERFEctly otherwise you will literally stab your eyeball out with a letter opener

yesterday night you already set up yoongi’s schedule for today so that when he wakes up and checks his calendar he’ll know exactly what’s going on

you even memorised his schedule

he has 2 conference calls in the morning (one starts at 8:30 and the other at 10:15) and 2 meetings in the afternoon (one starts at 1:45 and the other at 4:30)

you just want to prove to him that you’re not a total disaster and you’re capable of handling this job

and you made sure to dress yourself up a little more ~professionally~ although it pained you to leave your skinny jeans aside and slip into a pencil skirt instead

you hATe pencil skirts

they’re so tight and after you eat lunch you always feel like your tummy is going to buSt out

so yes you’re wearing a nice white button up long sleeved shirt tucked into a black pencil skirt along with a pair of shiny black heels that you polished last night

you also spray on some perfume and put a little more effort into your makeup

because,,,,, it’s no secret that min yoongi is an attractive man

ahem

you just want to look more presentable!!!

you texted jimin last night and asked if he wanted to get to work early this morning and he was just like lmao who do u think i am

so you pass by his apartment door and stick a note on the front that just says ‘good morning - see you at work!!’

it’s about a twenty ish minute walk and you’re definitely regretting choosing a pair of stiLETTOs to wear

so you take them off and proceed to walk comfortably to starbucks to get yourself and yoongi a coffee

you’re about to ask for a muffin but then you remember that he doEsn’T liKE muFfInS so you stick with a black coffee for him and a caramel macchiato for yourself

of course you’re hungry so you get a bagel for yourself with extrA cinnamon cream cheese

after you get everything you head on over to the building and greet the security guards good morning and they’re all pretty surprised because you’re never here,, so early

your heels click clacking on the marble floor is the only thing that’s heard as you make your way down the hallway to your desk

you check the time on your watch and you’re satisfied with yourself because you still have about thirty minutes until work starts

and you lean back against your chair and you give yourself a mental high five because uMMM,,, you’re kiLLING it and it’s not even 8am yet

you look around and

wow it’s quiet

you can hear the bustling of the city from outside and it’s oddly very calming

you kind of want to fall asleep

plus that bagel really filled u up and you always get sleepy after a good meal

uh oh

okay

look

maybe you can take like

a five minute nap

you deserve it!

you can re energize yourself and then you’ll be even more efficient today

you rest your head on your folded arms and shut your eyes

yeah

five minutes

“good morning, sir”

“morning, mr min!”

“good morning, sir!!”

click

clack

click

clack

your eyes open and your vision adjusts to youryou shoot up from your desk and wipe the drool off the side of your mouth and stand up from your chair immediately

and you glance down at your laptop and see that you didn't take a five minute snooze you took a FORTY minute snooze

thank god you're a light-ish sleeper otherwise yoongi's shoes echoing down the hallway would definitely not have woken you up and he would’ve caught you sleePING

you look up to see yoongi walking down the hallway looking at his phone

so you quickly fix your hair and straighten yourself up

“good morning sir” you clear your throat to get the raspy sleepiness out of your voice and tuck a strand of hair behind your ear

he walks past you and goes straight into his office and you’re about to sit down but then you remember you have a coFfee for him

so you knock on his door clutching his now lukewarm coffee

“i have a coffee here for you, boss” you walk over to his desk and place the cup on his desk

“one cream one sugar?”

uh oh

this coffee is black

“….i will be… right back” and you pick up the coffee and walk out of his room calmly

once you shut the door behind you you’re immEDIATELy zipping down the hallway to the break room

this coffee isn’t even lukewarm anymore now it’s just cold sad coffee

daMN it

it was stupid to buy a coffee forty minutes beforehand

and you can just make coffee here!!!! you dingus!!!!!

so you dump out the coffee and you see namjoon about to pour himself a cup but you slip over and you’re like namjoon sweetie hi good morning can i take that i am sO sorry

and you take the pot from him and refill yoongi’s cup

he just blinks at you because you hand him back an empty coffee pot

“it’s for the big guy you know how it is” and you reach past him to get the cream and a sugar cube and you plop it in and give it a stir

and you pop the lid back on and you’re like thanks joon i owe you big time!! and honestly you were moving so fast namjoon's not even sure what just happened

so you’re practically sprinting down the hall in stilettos back to yoongi’s office and you spot jimin walking out of the lift as you past by and you manage to say goOD morning buddy!!! but all he sees is like a blur and he rubs his eyes

when you get back to the office you’re panting a little but you calm your breaths as you set the coffee down

“one cream one sugar, boss” and you straighten your blouse and clear your throat

yoongi types something out on his phone and blindly reaches for the coffee cup and you gently nudge it towards his hand

he takes a sip and then looks up from his phone and gets his first glance at you for the day and

yoongi chokES on his coffee and quickly sets it down

holy shit

you don’t even look like the same y/n as yesterday

“oh shoot- do you need a napkin?? i’ll get a napkin hold on” and you shuffle out of the room and yoongi isn’t usually like this but he can’t help but let his eyes flicker down because dAmn you look good in that skirt

he thought you looked cute yesterday with your polka dotted blouse and your jeans but today you look so

sexy

god damn

okay

he needs to chill

you’re his secretary

he’s your boss

even more you’re his KLUtzY secretary who spilled coffee all over his shirt and talked smack about him

“…sir?” he snaps himself out of it and looks up and you’re standing over him holding a napkin

he thanks you quietly and takes it from you and dabs at his mouth

okay woO

keep it professional yoongi

“you've got a conference call in twenty minutes. i put everything in your calendar and it should alert you five minutes beforehand but in case it doesn't i'll come in and remind you. i filed the contracts you asked me to sort out yestreday everything's colour coded and also arrange alphabetically so it should be easier to find next time."

yoongi blinks up at you because... what happened to the y/n he met yesterday

“right. yes. good. okay." yoongi swallows thickly when he sees you suck your bottom lip in between your teeth which seems to be a nervous habit of yours "that's all i need from you then. you can go now."

you nod happily and see yourself out

this is a good start 

things are going to be greAT from here

:-) 

so

it’s been about two weeks since yoongi took over the company

and all you have to say is

you want to jump out the window

you want to jump off the fifty second floor of this building because yoongi is working you like a dog

which is something that you obviously aren’t accustomed to because the most rigorous thing you had to do for your old boss was to walk across the floor and get him a snack from the vending machine

but yoongi doesn’t do vending machine snacks because it’s appArently all trans fats

he mentioned it to you when you were scarfing down a little packet of cookies because of course you didn’t have time to get lunch for yourself because you were getting his stupid fancy sandwich like a million miles away

and you were like :) and threw it away and he nodded satisfactorily and then went into his office

and you bent down and picked the packet back up and threw the rest of the mini cookies into your mouth

he’s your boss not your dad

he can’t control your diet!!

omg

you’re so physically and mentally drained

you feel like a husk

your soul left your body the moment you met yoongi and it hasn’t returned ever since

you usually like being a secretary because you like organising things and colour coding things and going like ‘i’m so sorry- mr min will have to call you back’ and slamming the phone down because it makes you feel ~powerful~

but damn

you wish you had applied for an office job like jimin

he works in human resources

you would probably be really good in like finances or some other section like that

of course jimin isn’t paid as much as you’re paid so there’s that

you do want to continue having a roof over your head and food in your tummy so

you grin and bear it

to make a long story short

you strongly dislike yoongi and you’re pretty sure he hates you

here are some more things that have happened in the last two weeks

yoongi told you to photocopy 50 copies of a contract

of course you said yes and you went ahead to your little copying machine and made 50 copies

and when you went back and handed him the copies he looked at them and blinked and then looked at you and he was like this isn't the contract i asked you to copy

and you were like ?? you hANded me the contract

“this isn't the right contract”

“i-???”

“you were supposed to copy this one” and he hands you a DIFFERENT CONTRACT

so you end up shredding 50 sheets of paper and you make a brand new 50 copies and when you give the new ones to yoongi he’s like what took you so damn long??

and you were like

YOU, YOU BITCH

YOU TOOK ME SO DAMN LONG

you wanted to SCREAM

and another time

yoongi was about to go into a meeting but before that he told you that as soon as mr kim calls for him you should tell yoongi immediately

and your concern was that mr kim would call during the meeting and you would have to interrupt the meeting which is noT what you want to do but before you can voice your concern yoongi's like okay peace out i'm leaving now

and of course because the universe is against you

mr kim called during the meeting

so you knocked on the door and opened it and there are like 15 businesspeople just staring at you blankly and yoongi's staring at you blankly at the front of the desk

“sir, um, mr kim called"

and he nods and waves you away so you shut the door

after the meeting ends yoongi literally goes like

you shouldn't interrupt another meeting like that again

and you said that you only did it because yOOngi said to tell him as SOON as mr kim called

“hm. i don't recall telling you that."

you had your hands balled into fists so tightly that your knuckles were starting to get white but of coURse all you say is

“you're right, sir. it was my bad. it won't happen again."

“it better not."

and aNOTHER THING

LISA

lisa the sandwich girl

it's like she's expecting you to hook her up with yoongi

everytime you go into the shop she hands you yoongi's lunch and is always like :) tell :) yoongi :) i :) said :) hi :) and you’re like :) let :) go :) of :) the :) bag :) i :) need :) to :) leave :)

and because lisa is the last thing you're concerned about you never tell yoongi she says hi but you don't need to because lately she's been writing notes on the paper bag like ‘i was going to write a pun about a sandwich but i was afraid you’d find it stALe’

when you read that you were like ?? what does that mean are you saying the bread you used in his sandwich today is stale

one time you decided you'd splurge so you treated yourself to a sandwich from there made by lisa herself

it was,,, the worst sandwich you've ever had in your entire life

the bread was barely toasted

there was like 3 pounds of mayo in there

she was skimpy on the turkey

she placed the tomatoes on the bottom making the bread all soggy

yoongi must really REALLY want to get into lisa's pants if he can continue eating this shit without gagging

the conclusion here is that you hate lisa’s sandwiches but not as much as you hate yoongi

:) and you’re allowed to say that because you’re only saying it to yourself and it doesn’t count if no one else knows about your feelings :)

“we’re going to have sO much fun tonight it’s literally been a century since we last got to go to a club and get wasted!!!!! i even bought a brand new shirt for the occasion.” jimin grins and takes a sip of his juice and you nod excitedly

“i’m so ready to get shit faced let me tell you mr min honestly wants to make me rip my-“

“miss y/l/n.” both you and jimin turn when you hear your name and you’re surprised to see yoongi standing there

why’s he in the canteen he’s never in the canteen

“mr min, what.. can i help you with?” you clear your throat and turn yourself around a little more to face him

“i need you to stay late tonight to reorganise some files that your old boss kept tucked away in the drawers. it’s frankly a mess in there.” you don’t even get a chance to respond before yoongi takes a bite of an apple and strolls away casually

wait what

he can’t just

okay technically he can do that because he’s your boss but

not tonight!!! 

“mr min i don’t-“ you stand up quickly to chase him and he whips around and raises an eyebrow

“is there something wrong?”

yes there’s something wrong

you have plans tonight!!!!!!!!!

you’re going dancing and you’re going to down shots like there’s no tomorrow and you’re going to wake up tomorrow morning with a hangover like never before so yEs there’s something wrong

“…i don’t know if you wanted me to colour code them or arrange them alphabetically.” you breathe out and you feel your soul leave your body

your first night out in weeks and now you have to stay late and arrange dusty old files

“both.”

“of course, sir.”

“i’ll be here to keep you company you can get ‘shit-faced’ another time.”

you’re pretty sure you’re going to burst into tears when you see jimin and a couple other co-workers seemingly having a bLast at the new club downtown from his snapchat story

you let out a grunt as you get up from your knees

you’ve been organising these damn files for like two hours

yoongi was done with his phone call like half an hour ago and then he said he was going to get some food

your stomach grumbles at the thought of food

you h8 your boss with a burning passion

another twenty minutes pass and you’ve never been so relieved in your life when you finALLY are finished with the files

it only took like 30 years to dust things off and then colour code them and then re label them and then arrange them alphabetically

“good job, y/l/n” you give yourself a pat on the back and then plop down on yoongi’s cushy office chair

wow you feel powerful just sitting here

it only takes a second for you to start spinning the chair in circles because this is literally your only form of entertainment for the night

“if you break my chair it’s coming out of your paycheque.” you stop spinning immediately when yoongi seemingly appears out of nowhere

you’re about to apologise profusely and get up but from the way yoongi tilts his head and offers you the smallest of smirks you know you’re not in trouble

“i wasn’t going to break it.” you grumble and you’re about to get off his chair and let him sit but he sits across from you instead

you’re in the boss’ chair and he’s not

how the tables have turned,,,,,,,,

“here. eat. the only place open at this hour was mcdonald’s.”

“you bought dinner for me?”

yoongi plops a paper bag on the desk and your mouth waters when he pulls out a big mac and an order of large fries

“oh gosh, boss. you didn’t have to go all out for lil ol me” yoongi can’t help but smile before he shakes his head and pulls out a miLKSHAKE

“a vanilla milkshake? i thought you weren’t into sugar.”

“it’s for you. i know how much you love anything that rots your teeth.”

oh

that’s like

oddly sweet

but also kind of insulting

but still sweet in his own way

“i also bought a couple beers if you’re interested you won’t get shit-faced like you wanted to but you’ll get a little buzzed.” he pulls a niNE pack of beers out of the bag and cracks one open for himself

at first the meal is kind of awkward

the two of you are kind of just sitting there in silence eating food and drinking

but yoongi breaks the silence when he sees you dip a french fry into your milkshake

what

the

what the fuk

u so nasty

“that’s disgusting.”

“don’t knock it til you try it!” when yoongi opens his mouth to give you another snarky comment you shove a milkshake dipped fry into his mouth

he chews thoughtfully and then swallows

“what do you think?”

it’s sweet

and it’s salty

at the same time

somehow this disgusting combination works

“it’s… it’s okay, but it’s still disgusting.” yoongi mutters and takes a swig of his beer “here, i can’t finish all of these on my own.” he hands you a can of beer and you crack it open

the two of you spend the next hour eating and drinking

halfway through eating your milkshake became yours and yoongi’s milkshake

yoongi’s really enjoying your french fry hack in case that wasn’t clear

you’re really enjoying this beer it’s surprisingly good quality coming from the corner store

“i’m serious! i turned all the white sheets pink because of one red sock and jimin didn’t talk to me for a whole week because the two of us had to come to work wearing matching pink button-ups.” yoongi throws his head back in laughter and you suppress your own laughter by taking another sip of beer

the alcohol coursing through your veins is making you become a little more talkative than usual

“i have a question for you, boss”

“shoot”

“why do you hate me?” you push your bottom lip out in a pout and yoongi looks up at you in surprise as he wipes his hands off on a napkin

“where did you get that idea?”

“because you-“ hiccup “because you’re always so mean to me! like i know i didn’t have a great first impression but you knOw i’ve already apologised like a triLLion times for what i said and you also know i only say things to be funny but you’Re such a meanie-bobeenie sometimes it makes me wonder what the hell i’m supposed to do to make you-“

“y/n, i don’t hate you. i’m just-“ yoongi pauses to think “i’m just like that.”

why was he so mean to you all the time? he didn’t have a particular reason

maybe it’s like that thing where when kids have crushes on each other they’re mean to their crush instead of

wa,,,,,,aaaaaait a second,,,,,

yoongi has to admit he’s taken an iNKLing of an interest in you since your first meeting but it’s not serious or anything

like yes you’re attractive and you’re his type but,.,.,.,.,. ya you’re just his secretary it’s not a big deal he doesn’t like you like that

right

right???

“it’s, uh, it’s getting late - we should probably head home.” yoongi clears his throat and begins cleaning up the wrappers and napkins and ketchup packets

“thanks for treating me to an extravagant meal tonight, mr min. you really didn’t have to.” the two of you step onto the lift and you hit the ground floor level for yourself and the parking lot level for yoongi

“trust me, i did. i know how upset you were about not getting to go out with mr park and the others… and fast food makes everyone feel better. by the way - it’s after-hours. you can call me yoongi - mr min makes me feel like i’ve aged 50 years.” he nudges you playfully and you’re like i should get yoongi to drink more beers if he acts like this from it

and then ur like o wait that’s call alcoholism so maybe not

“touché.” the elevator dings and you look up “this is me! i’ll see you in the morning then, boss.”

before you get off the lift yoongi stops you

“sorry if i’ve been, um, a little hard on you since i started working here. you’re responsible and you’re hardworking i’m glad to have you as my secretary, y/n, even if i don’t show it sometimes. i promise i’ll try to be less of a… as you said, a meanie-bobeenie.”

that was,, unexpected

but aw!!!!

that’s nice of him to say

your lips tug up in a bright smile

“i’ll see you in the morning… yoongi.”you step out of the lift and you wave at yoongi as the doors shut

waking up in the morning for work feels a lot better now that you know yoongi doesn’t actually hate you

although your slight hangover doesn’t feel that great

you keep your sunglasses on when you walk into the office with yoongi’s coffee

and when you knock on his door and enter his office to see him also wearing his sunglasses you can’t help but laugh

“you’re having black coffee today, it’ll wake you up.”

“please tell me i don’t have any meetings today because i feel like death.” yoongi’s voice is all low and raspy and in ur head you’re like [h o ly shit that’s hot]

“i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you have two. your first one is in ten minutes. and i suggest taking your sunglasses off before you head in there.”

yoongi groans and slams his head down on his desk

the next couple of weeks go by pretty smoothly

aside from like one or two-ish slip ups

“y/n?”

“yes, sir?” you’re about to leave his office after giving him his morning coffee

you were almost late but after you took your heels off in the middle of the street and sprinted back to the office you made it right on time

the downside of getting there on timE is the fact that in your rush you literally forgot to pick up yoongi’s cup of coffee that was SITTING ON THE COUNTER neXT to youRS YOU IDIOT

luckily you picked up a little trick

in case something like this happened, you always bought two cups of the same coffee

like if you spill one cup it’s fine because you still have the other

but in this case you only have one cup

and this is your cup

and it says ‘call me sometime :-) -jungkook’

jungkook is the cute new barista that started working at your starbucks like three weeks ago?? he usually has the morning shift

and yeah you’ve been having fun like,,, flirting with him

because he’s an attractive guy

chestnut brown hair

cute round eyes

adorable smile

and he’s very very verY charming

so SUE you if you’re having a good time!!!! (although you’re like low key leading him on so you better cut it out soon)

but it seems that today was the day that jungkook decided he’d finally make a move

because when yoongi turns his coffee cup and points to the note

you’re like ….:) shit :)

“who is jungkook, and why does he want me to call him?”

“…business proposal?”

“and his form of communication is via paper coffee cups?”

“kids are getting super creative nowadays, boss”

“mm, okay.” yoongi takes a sip of his coffee and lets out a small sigh “you sure this wasn’t your cup?”

“nope. i need at least like five pounds of sugar and creamer in my coffee.” you laugh awkwardly and back up towards to the door “i wouldn’t get the same cup of coffee as you in case… something happened… oH is that my phone ringing pardon me!!” and you slam the door and plop down on your seat and let out a breath

yoongi smiles to himself and shakes his head

but he’s definitely going to need to call this jungkook and tell him to back off

yoongi’s definitely warming up to you

after one of his meetings he passed by your desk and placed a pack of those mini chocolate chip cookies from the vending machine in front of you and you were like gASP a GIFT

“what’s this for??”

“for actually getting to work on time two weeks in a row. keep it up and i might just treat you to a chocolate bar, too.”

one day as you’re coming back from your lunch break you see yoongi at your desk huffing and grumbling to himself

“mr min?” he looks up at you and then looks back down “what are you-“

“i’m trying to photocopy this contract but your stupid printer won’t-“ he pauses to smack the side of it and you gasp in shock because he just whacked your bABY “won’t work!! i think we need to get you a new one.” he scowls and scratches the top of his head

you roll your eyes before gesturing for him to scoot and then bending down to check out how much damage he’s done (somehow he created a small paper jam)

“it’s my printer and it only responds to my magic touch.” you punch a couple buttons on the thing and it sputters for a second before a fresh photocopy comes out the slit “here you go, boss!” you hand yoongi the sheet and he’s like i could’ve done it myself ur printer is just weird and you’re like mMMmm

you sit down on your seat and yoongi’s about to head into his office before

“by the way - i’m going on a date tonight, with lisa. can you jot that down in my schedule? the dinner reservation is at 6.”

“date with lisa at 6” you reply almost immediately and begin typing it out onto his schedule

wait

what

he’s going out on a date?

your heart immediately drops to your stomach

all you typed in was date with lis and you’re getting up and stumbling into his office

you wrap your fingers around the frame of the door and peek in

“boss?”

“mhm” he doesn’t look up at you and you swallow nervously

“what,,, what do u mean you’re going out on a date”

yoongi looks up at you and is like ?

“it’s pretty self explanatory… have you never been on one?”

your cheeks flame up and you’re like “of couRSE i’ve been on one i just-“ you stop yourself and press your lips together because what exactly are you going to say to yoongi

oH i just thought maybe i had a shot with you because we’ve been spending so much time together lately and we’ve gotten preTTy close and i think nO i'm pretty sure i have a teensy weensy crush on you sir but enjoy your date!!!!!

you scratch the back of your neck awkwardly and feel your cheeks flame up at the fact that you…. definitely have feelings for ur boss

but he has feelings for someone else

ouch

“i just… wanted to remind you that you have a skype conference at 10 tonight. i, um, i’ll be working late so if you need help during the conference you know where to find me and stuff. uh, yeah. that’s it.”

“okay. what time is it?”

you peer down at your watch

“5:20. you should probably get going in the next 20 minutes so you won’t lose your reservation”

“mm.”

there’s a moment of silence and you take that as a hint to leave

“y/n, wait.” yoongi lets out a breath and he stops sorting through the papers on his desk

you spin around on your heels and you’re like yes???

“if i’m not back by 9:30 give me a call to remind me about the meeting.”

“yes, sir.” you sigh and shut the door

yoongi frowns once you leave

it'll be fine

he's going to have a great time with lisa

yeah

your chair squeaks under you as you plop down on it and lean back and look up at the ceiling

wow

well

you feel pathetic

what were you thinking?

of course he’s not interested in you

he thinks you’re just a klutzy idiot of a secretary

you thought something had changed between the two of you considering you’d been spending sO much damn time together and honestly speaking you had completely forgotten about lisa

were you really that crazy to think that mAybe there was ~something~ romantic going on between the two of you?

why did you have to be such a hopeless romantic

you definitely need to cut back on the romcom binge-watching sessions with jimin

and now your fukicgn eyes are starting to tear up

great

just gREAT

stop!!!!

no crying at work!!!!!!!!!!! you are a grown woman!! get it together for the love of god

you squeeze your eyes shut and curse to yourself when you feel a hot tear rolling down the side of your face and you use the sleeve of your blouse to dab it away

if yoongi comes out and sees you crying that’d be humiliating

just cry at home like a normal person

you calm yourself and distract yourself by scrolling through and organising your emails

soon enough yoongi’s door opens and he steps out and woW

he looks so dreamy

he fixed his hair and you’re pretty sure he changed into another shirt because this one has no wrinkles

yoongi adjusts his cufflinks before patting himself down to check for his phone and wallet

and before you can help yourself

“you look handsome, mr min.” you immediately look away when yoongi turns to look at you and you’re like hMMm let me take a look at this sticky note that only has a smiley face doodled on it

a small smile tugs at yoongi’s lips when he sees your cheeks warm a little

god u r so ADOrable

no

no! he scolds himself and reminds himself that dating someone you work with never ends well

he has to get over this stupid little crush of his and lisa is the perfect distraction

maybe he’ll end up really reaLLy liking lisa and then he won’t have to worry about you anymore

yep

that’s a good plan

“buy yourself some dinner. i’ll see you later.” yoongi tosses a couple crumpled up bills onto the counter and then he gestures to the hallway and then he’s off

you watch wistfully as he makes his way down the hallway

lisa’s one lucky girl

the next couple of hours really give you some alone time to reflect on what’s happening

let’s see

you like yoongi

a loT more than you thought you did

and he doesn’t feel the same way

nothing ever works out for you in the world of ~romance~

even in high school and college

no one was ever interested in u

and when you thought someone was interested they were actually just being nice to you

of course after you graduated things were a little different

you used tinder and ended up losing your virginity to this guy you’d texted for like a month

he came after like two strokes and then kicked you out of his place and that’s the most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you

great

you’re going to die alone

you groan and pinch the bridge of your nose in frustration

save the tears for home save the tears for home

you’re rarely at the office alone at night

usually there are other people on the level but tonight it’s just you

you would be creeped out but you’re too busy pitying yourself to be scared of any ghosts or demons potentially haunting the building

you finished work earlier than you thought you would and you were tempted to leave because you have nothing else to do but you told yoongi you’d be here

maybe he’ll give you a small raise for being such a loyal secretary

you just finished your dinner (fish tacos and french fries from the food truck across the street) and you’re just aimlessly scrolling through your facebook feed

it’s about 8:15 when you hear the faint ding of the elevator and you perk up

and then you hear yoongi

you recognise the sound of his walk

why did he come back so soon his meeting isn’t for like another hour and a bit

you get up from your chair and straighten yourself out and look up as yoongi approaches your desk

“back so soon?? it’s only- oh my goD” yoongi’s grumbling to himself while dabbing at his shirt that has a huge splatter of wine on it

yikEs

no wonder he’s back

it’s fine you’ll get him another shirt and he’ll head back to the restaurant

how did he pour sO much wine on himself

“i’ll get you another shirt, boss”

you immediately go into his office and grab a crisp shirt for him from his little closet

you walk out and

oh sweet baby jesus

you squeak and instinctively cover your eyes as your cheeks flush because

yoongi is shirtless

“sorry, i just wanted to get as much of it out as possible” yoongi’s not looking at you but that’s good because now you’re basically gawking at him

he has his shirt on your desk and is rubbing pretty hard at the purple stain

he’s kind of bent over and you can see his bicep flex every time he wipes

and o hl o r d

his back muscles,,,,,,,,,,,

“are you, um, is lisa waiting for you at the restaurant? did you just come back to change?”

yoongi pauses

“she went home. the date didn’t work out. there was no spark. the meeting is more important anyways” he grumbles before getting up and looking down at the shirt

“what- you don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to but what… happened on the date?”

yoongi sighs as he slips into his shirt and you’re about to apologise because it’s really none of your business but then he speaks up

“i don’t wanna get too into it, but the gist of it is that she kinda just wanted me for my money and then when i accused her of that she threw her wine all over me” he shrugs as if that’s the most casual thing to happen ever

oh dang

that’s rough

that sucks!!!! lisa sucks!!!!! what sane person would be perfectly fine taking advantage of someone like that??

(you hated lisa the moment you met her)

“oh… i’m sorry, that sucks” is all you can manage because you’ve never been good with comforting people “if it… makes you feel any better i think her sandwiches are put together pretty sloppily i mean i could probably make better sandwiches with my feet”

that gets a laugh out of yoongi and he shakes his head

“yeaH i’m definitely going to take a break from sandwiches for a while”

he buttons his shirt up and fixes the collar before he moves past you and into his office

meanwhile you fold up his stained shirt and tuck it into your purse so that you can drop it off at the dry cleaners tomorrow

you figure you’d give yoongi a little alone time

you want to comfort him but you don’t know how

so you distract yourself by making a cup of coffee since it’s already pretty late

“you want a cup of coffee? i made extra” you poke your head into yoongi’s office and raise your brow when you see he’s not sitting at his desk

“i could use some caffeine.” yoongi’s standing at his closet and is currently trying to tie his tie but his fingers are not cooperating with him and he’s clearly struggling

you’re about to go and get his coffee but then you hear him mumbling about how dumb ties are and you can’t help it you need to help him out

“here, let me,” you click over to yoongi and slip in between him and the mirror before reaching up to fix his tie

he stares down at you as you wrap the blade around the tail of the tie and a fond smile twitches at his lips

there’s something different about you but he can’t point out what it is

your brows are knitted together in intense concentration and

wow you’re cute

“once around…” you mumble to yourself and pause, tilting your head in confusion

that doesn’t look right

“oh, wait. twice! twice around, sorry” you adjust the tie slightly and make sure it’s not so tight so that’s it’s cutting off his breathing lol

“twice around…” yoongi breathes out and his head lowers a little when you yank on the tie gently to tighten it

your eyes flicker up and your cheeks immediately flush when you realise how close you are to yoongi right now

you’re basically pressed up against the mirror and you’d only have to take like half a step closer and your nose would be touching his

you don’t know what it is but you find yourself tugging on his tie and pulling him down so that you can press your lips against his

yoongi’s eyes widen in surprise but his lips are moving on their own accord

and for the first time evER

yoongi’s heart flutters in his chest

he’s never felt this way before

not even with lisa

your lips are so unbelievably soft

yoongi can taste the strawberry chapstick that he sees you apply all the time and he can’t help but suck your bottom lip in between his teeth

and when you let out a little moan of his name his hands itch to pull you closer because god daMn…

and then it hits you

you’re kissing yoongi

you’re kissing your boss

you’re not just kissing him you guys are fully making out

RED ALERT

what the hELL R U DOING

you immediately pull away and you are just,,, mortified

just because u haven’t gotten laid in like idk 8 months doesn’t mean you can go around KISSING anyone you like

get your hormones in check girl!!!!!!

this is not the way to comfort someone!!!!!!!

“oh shit- that wasn’t- i’m so sorry, i, uh- i don’t know why i did that but-“ yoongi’s about to speak up to calm you down and tell you it’s okay but then the skype ringtone echoes from his desk and the two of you are reminded that he has a very important conference call “okay, i’ll be out there, um, have fun??” you bolt out of the room and shut the door behind you and uGHHHH

for about forty minutes you’re just stewing in your own humiliation as yoongi takes his call

meanwhile yoongi can barely focus on what he’s talking about because all he can think about are your lips and how sweet you taste

you realise you’ve spent the last ten minutes just staring at a blank word document because all you can think about it WHY DID I DO THAT

you hear yoongi saying goodbye to whoever he’s talking to and you slap your face gently a couple times to snap out of it

maybe you can just act casual about it

haha yeah bro we just kissed but it’s fine it’s totally normal i kiss jimiN all the time

okay that’s not a very good approach to the situation

you don’t get a chance to come up with another brilliant solution because yoongi’s office door opens and he steps out before switching the lights off and tucking his phone and wallet into his back pocket

“c’mon, i’ll drive you home”

wha,,,, you don’t think you can survive a car ride home with yoongi because you’re still mortified about what happened

and he’s not bringing it up either so maybe he just wants to forget about it too

“oh, no, it’s alright! i can take the bus home”

“it’s a little past midnight it’s not safe. don’t be stubborn.”

“i’m not being stubborn! seriously, it’s fine” you wave him off before pointing to your laptop “i have some work to do anyway”

yoongi bends down to look at your screen and raises an eyebrow

“this is an empty word document.” he stands back up and looks down at you before nodding his head over to the hallway “pack up your stuff that’s an order.” he switches your desk lamp off for you before he’s walking towards the elevators and well you don’t have a choice now so

you shove everything into your bag and grab your cardigan off the back of your chair before quickly jogging over to the lift

the two of you step in and you’re standing so close that your arms are pressed together

but neither of you seem to be moving away

interesting

the two of you stare up at the little screen showing the descending floor numbers

“i’m perfectly capable of taking myself home”

“i’m aware”

“so i’ll just take the bus then?”

“nope”

“mr min “

“yoongi. it’s after hours. you can call me yoongi, y/n.”

((his name is cute to you for some reason))

“yoOngi. i don’t want to inconvenience you, sir. my place is like a twenty-minute drive away and your penthouse is like five minutes “

“it’s not an inconvenience. come.” you figure there’s no use trying to argue with yoongi

he pretty much always gets his way no matter what

maybe that’s why he’s so rich

you trail behind him and he unlocks his car (it’s a sleek black range rover!!!!!!!!!) and he gets into the driver’s seat while you slip into the passenger seat

“are you sure about this, yoongi? i feel bad because you’ve already had a bad night like don’t feel obligated to drive me home because i helped you tie your-“

“i’m literally not even listening to you right now” the engine purrs to life and yoongi pulls out of his spot

he has his sleeves rolled up and his tie is loosened and his hair is kind of messy probably from him running his hand through it (a nervous habit you’ve noticed he has)

…..god he looks sexy

it’s also pretty late and his voice has gotten slightly raspy and is like an octave lower

your mind wanders and you find yourself wondering what he’d sound like while

omg get urself together

you’re tempted to just not say anything for the entire duration of the ride and just let the radio do the talking but

“…so you really don’t know how to tie your own tie?” yoongi smiles at your question as he keeps his eyes on the road

“it’s too much effort, tying a tie. that’s why most of mine are those clip-on ones” he admits and your mouth drops because LoL you have this professional ceo who terrifies everyone and he uses lil clip-on ties like a little boy

“clip-on ties??? omG that’s so adorable you’re so cute” you blurt out as you laugh at him and yoongi glances over at you for a second before he shakes his head and laughs along

the rest of the ride to your place consists of you sharing funny stories and yoongi mostly listening and focusing on driving but he laughs a lot and you feel good because you think you’re making him feel better about the she who shall not be named situation

((lisa doesn’t deserve him anyways))

lisa is the last thing on yoongi’s mind because of you

:-))

he never really liked those sandwiches anywho

you feel kinda sad when he rolls up to the front of your building because you guys were having such a nice time

like you’ve literally never been so casual with yoongi before

you like spending time with him

…you like him.

that was probably pretty obvious considering you kissed him

he hasn’t brought it up,,,,,, which is kind of concerning but

knowing yoongi he’s acting professional about it

“thanks for the ride, yoongs.” the nickname slips out accidentally and you look up to make sure he’s not like disgUSted with the new nickname you’ve given him

“c’mon, i’ll walk you to the door”

he gets out of the car before you can protest

you hop out and shut the door behind you and he locks the car

“thanks for everything, by the way. i enjoyed your company tonight.” yoongi murmurs and in the dim streetlights you can see his cheeks go a little pink

“i know. i’m amazing company, what can i say?” you joke and yoongi rolls his eyes because of coUrse you would say something like that “i hope i made you feel a little better.”

“you did” the two of you stop in front of the entrance and you turn to face each other

“good! that’s good. well,,,,goodnight, boss” you’re about to zip right into the building but you’re stopped by yoongi tugging on your wrist causing you to spin around and all of a sudden you feel yoongi press the ~softest~ kiss to your cheek

aaAHHHHHHHHHHHH

“goodnight, y/n.” yoongi smiles kindly at you and you beam at him with pink cheeks before you nod and go inside

you can feel his gaze on you as you wait for the lift and you’re bouncing on your toes for some reason

you feel super jittery and you want to scream so loudly but it’s like 2am lol

the next morning you have a pep in your step and jimin’s like omg slow down i know you’re happy about the whole yoongi thing but i have short legs!!!!!!

your arm is linked with his and you’re basically dragging him down the street so you slow down and you’re like sorry i’m just,,,,, really happy,,,,,

jimin lets you get away with it because he knows you haven’t gotten some romantic action in a while

and suddenly your happiness is replaced by nervousness the moment you see yoongi

jimin yelps when you duck behind the corner and yank him with you

you listen for the ‘ding’ and you peek out from behind the corner to make sure the elevator doors have closed

“what was that????”

“i….,.,, i don’t know!!!” you snap and walk over to the lifts and push the up button quickly

“i thought you and yoongi had a greAT time yesterday so why’d you basically piss yourself when “

“i don’T KNOW STOP YELLING AT ME”

jimin takes that as a hint to stop and the elevator ride up is silent

you’re so flustered you forget to blow jimin an air kiss and he’s like okay now i look like boo boo the fOOL blowing a kiss to nobody

you plop down on your chair and put your purse under your desk and let out a breath

okay

whatever that panic attack was

it can’t happen again

how are you supposed to act around yoongi now??

you kissed him

he kissed your cheek

you guys had a great time

should you act more casual around him???

maybe you should ask him if he wants to go out for lunch

or is that too much too soon

oh god

“good morning, miss y/l/n.” you jump when yoongi walks past you and into his office

“good- hi, good morning boss!!!” you say a little too enthusiastically and you clear your throat

you stand up and clutch your iPad to your chest and waddle into his office

you curse to yourself and lean down to adjust your heels

“you surprisingly don’t have any meetings today but you do have to look over the rewritten company policies after that- um, incident that happened on the 45th floor and the financial precinct”

“okay. what’s for lunch today?”

“what’s for-“ oh no you weren’t prepared for this what’S THE PLAN Y/N WHAT’S THE PLAN “lunch is… with me. you’re having lunch with me.” is what you blurt out and you press your lips together when yoongi looks up from his phone and gives you this…. look  

“unless you… unless you want a… sandwich or something i “

“where are we eating lunch?”

oh okay he wants to eat lunch with you that’s a good sign

“i’ll get some takeout for us? there’s a really good sushi place a couple blocks “

“okay. you can use my card. i like the spicy tuna rolls with those crunchy bits sprinkled on top.”

“okay! okay okay that’s- yes, those ones are nice. how does lunch at 12:30 sound?”

“mm.” yoongi scribbles something on a post-it note and you take that as a hint to get the heck out

you shut the door behind you

okay

so is yesterday just going to be an unspoken thing

fine

you can do that

whatever

keeping it casual

you can keep it casual

you’re as cool as a cucumber

you’re as cool as the sunglasses guy emoji

B-)

coolcoolcoolcoolcool

jimin pouts a little when you tell him you’re not joining him for lunch but when you say you have a lil sushi date with yoongi he’s like……. hmmmmmmm okay i’ll get over it :-))))))))

the sushi place is a couple blocks away

and to get there you have to pass by the sandwich place which isn’t a big deal

and when you get there you’re about to just keep walking because who cares about sandwiches anymore but

well you can’t help yourself

:-)

you walk in and lisa looks surprised to see you

“lisa.” you smile at her and then look down at the display case

“y/n! i, um, hi. hey. what can i get for you?” she scratches the back of her neck and can’t seem to keep eye contact with you

in fact she seems to be a little scared

now you know how yoongi feels

being powerful…… makes you feel niCe

“i’m in the mood for… a nice, hot cup of tea.” lisa nods quickly and punches a couple buttons on the cash register

“english breakfast or green?”

“english breakfast, please.” you hum and rummage through your purse for your wallet and hand her a couple of coins and then you go over and wait for it on the side

but you’re not just here to get a cup of tea

oh nonoOonononono

“y/n, here’s your tea!” lisa chirps happily and hands you your cup of tea with a smile

“thank you,” you take a tiny sip and then purse your lips and lisa’s like !!! what’s wrong??

“oof, i hate to do this.” you sigh and shake your head “but could you add a little more cream and a sprinkle of go fuck yourself?”

“sure i’ll just-wait w-what?” lisa looks up at you with wide eyes and you stare blankly at her

“…a little more cream and sugar?”

you hand her your cup and she nods quickly and adds in a splash of cream and even stirs it for you the polite little thing

“h-here you go, y/n”

“thanks lisa.” you begin walking away but you turn back to look over your shoulder “have a wonderful, gold-digging day!”

lisa grows pale

you dump the tea into the bin the moment you leave the sandwich place and head straight for the sushi place

you give yourself a high five for avenging yoongi in your own twisted way

“i’m bAck and i’m ready to eaT” you shut the door behind you as you enter yoongi’s office and frown when you see him typing an obviously angry email

now the past y/n would’ve immediately excused herself and then leave the room but for some reason you feel like,,,, you’re the one holding the power

maybe you’re still on a high from your encounter with lisa

so instead of being like oH i’ll just come back in a sec you stroll over and shut yoongi’s laptop and then hand him a pair of chopsticks

“i was in the middle of something.” his eyebrows knit together and he’s about to open up his laptop but you use the chopsticks to gently whack his hand and he flinches

“i’m aware” you wave the chopsticks in front of yoongi and he sighs and takes it “but the only thing you had today was half a cup of coffee. so we’re going to eat and then maYbe i’ll let you get back to work”

you take a seat and proceed to take the takeaway containers out of the flimsy plastic bag and yoongi’s just sitting there like since when did you become so,,,,, bold

“a spicy tuna roll with the crunchy tempura bits on top for you and a dragon roll for meEE” yoongi perks up when you pop open the lid of your styrofoam box

damn

your roll looks rly good

he looks down at his own spicy tuna roll

sure he likes spicy tuna but he’s not in the mood for raw fish today

hm

“what’s in your roll?” yoongi raises an eyebrow when he sees that you’ve already shoved a roll into your mouth

the way your cheeks are filled resembles a chipmunk and he waits patiently for you to chew and swallow

“nice to see that you’ve got the eating abilities of a three-year-old toddler”

you roll your eyes and ignore his comment

“it’s tempura shrimp and cucumber on the inside and then avocado on top with a drizzle of spicy mayo i think” you pick up a sliver of ginger and pop it into your mouth and chew thoughtfully

meanwhile yoongi takes half a bite of one of his rolls and decides he’s over it

it’s good but it’s not tempura shrimp and cucumber with avocado on top and a drizzle of spicy mayo

“you forgot to shut the door.” yoongi uses his chopsticks to point over your shoulder and you immediately turn around and get up

didn’t you shut the door when you came in??

once your back is turned yoongi reaches over and snags one of your rolls before shoving it into his mouth

holy shit

this is SO GOOD

when you walk over the door… is closed

“the door wasn’t open” you walk back over and take a seat

yoongi swallows his bite and shrugs “sorry, my bad.”

okay he was originally just going to eat one and be done with it but he wants another one

“is that your phone ringing outside?” yoongi stops eating and leans forward a little bit as if listening to something

you turn back again and look at the door and try to hear for your ringtone

“i don’t hear anything”

“you don’t??” yoongi grabs another roll from your box and shoves it into his mouth

“do you think i’m going deaf or something because i seriously can’t hear a thing” you turn back just in time to see yoongi shoving one of yOUR rolls into his mouth

“did you just-“ yoongi wipes a dot of mayo off from the corner of his mouth and then swallows

you look down at your roll and count in your head

you only ate 1

but 3 of them are missing

omg

you look up at yoongi slowly and he takes a sip of water

“…yOU!!! you THIEF!!!! that’s not fair now you have to give me two of yours so we’re even” you reach over with your chopsticks and gawk at yoongi when he blocks your chopsticks with his own

“you don’t have any proof”

“i saw you with my own eyes yoONGI”

next thing you know the two of you are fighting with your chopsticks and using them like swords

it’s when a droplet of soy sauce almost stains yoongi’s dress shirt that he stops whacking his chopsticks with yours and holds a hand out to stop you

“tell you what-“ he leans forward as if negotiating some sort of business deal “you give me your dragon roll.” and then he doesn’t say anything else

“…and???”

“that’s it. you just give me your dragon roll.” the playful glint in yoongi’s eyes tells you he’s just kidding but you can’t help but scowl at him anyways

“you’re a lousy negotiator how the hell’d you become a ceo??” you end up sacrificing your dragon roll and yoongi gives you his spicy tuna roll which honestly is also pretty good

at the end it’s worth it to see yoongi humming happily as he chews thoughtfully

he’s so cute uWu

yoongi, to put it bluntly

is completely and utterly fucked 

he like

kind of wants to bring up what happened between you two

but he also doesn’t know how

because he’s never been in thiS kind of situation before

so the kiss is kind of just a thing that’s been hanging in the air but the two of you act like nothing happened

uGh

all this relationship drama makes him feel like he’s in high school again

he just!!!!!!! wants to do something!!!!!!!! but he doesn’t know what to do!!!!!!!!

so when yoongi gets an email about the yearly company gala

a lightbulb appears above his head

“y/n i need you in my office” yoongi walks past your desk and into his office and you quickly spoon the rest of your rice into your mouth before wiping your mouth with the back of your hand and going in

“what’s up? um, i mean- what can i help you with?” you clear your throat and lick over your teeth in case there’s any food stuck in between your teeth

yoongi sits down and leans back against his chair while keeping his eyes on you

“you’re coming with me to the gala tomorrow night”

oh what

you squint your eyes slightly and wait for him to be like lolz just kidding get back to work

but he never does that

you’ve never been to a company gala before

your old boss had a wife so it’s not like he had to ask you to accompany him

“you- me? you want me to come with you to the “

“we’ll leave after work tomorrow, so make sure you bring something nice to change into.” yoongi’s flipping through some papers on his desk and he reaches up to lick his finger before swiping to the next page

“sir, you don’t think it’s a little bit-“ your phone rings outside and you turn to look at the door before looking back at yoongi “-it’s a little bit weird for you to be showing up with your secreta-“

“go and pick up the phone. might be an important call.”

okay well

apparently you’re going to a gala now

tomorrow comes a lot sooner than you thought it would because the next thing you know work is over and you’re changing in the disabled washroom with jimin as your lovely assistant

“c’mon, suck it in” jimin grits his teeth as he tugs at the zipper of your dress “i told you to go for that blue one”

it’s a little black dress

off the shoulder

sweetheart neckline

it ends a little above your knees

“but i’ve never worn this dress before and i wanted to take it out for a spin!!” you wiggle your hips to try and help jimin and he lets out a breath of relief when he finally gets the zipper to zip up in one smooth movement

now you know why you’ve never worn this dress before

it’s so damn tiGHt

well honestly it’s not that bad but it’s just,, tighter than things you usually wear

at least your boobs look perkier

“if you bend down, this thing is going to bust open” jimin snorts and bends down to help you into your heels and he scowls when you put your hand on top of his head to keep yourself from toppling over

“how does it look?”

“it looks good, you look sexy” and sure you’re just friends with jimin but that comment gets your cheeks to flush a little bit and you can’t help but bite back with a “keep it in your pants, park” and he raises his hands in defence

“alright, you go and enjoy yourself at a fancy ball while i go home and pig out in front of the TV” jimin sighs dramatically and you laugh but give him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving the washroom

you keep your eyes down as you click past the cubicles because you can feel everyone just staring at you and you hear jimin go like “i know her ass looks good but keep talking about her like that and i’ll knock u out” in the distance

you knock on the door to yoongi’s office and let yourself in and

wOOF

you see yoongi wear suits everyday but for some reason tonight he looks ten times more expensive

his hair is styled to perfection

his lips look extra pouty and when he licks over his bottom lip and moistens it you audibly swallow

there isn’t even one wrinkle on his shirt

not only does he look sexy he also smELLS sexy

the entire room just smells like yoongi

he’s on the phone and is scribbling something down so he doesn’t notice you yet

“yes, i hope to hear from you soon.” he has his phone sandwiched in between his shoulder and his ear as he adjusts his cufflinks and woW you are totally heart eyes emoji right now “take care.” he hangs up and gets up from his seat while looking for his keys “ready to go?”

“yep! let’s get a move on because i don’t know how long my feet are going to last in these heels”

yoongi’s hand stops searching and his eyes flicker to your heels and then his eyes slowly trail up your legs and the rest of your body

holy

sh…it

“you clean up nicely” is all he can say because words cannot describe,,, how sexy you look to him right now

okay calm down yoongi find ur keys don’t gawk at ur secretary

he finds his keys and tucks them into his back pocket but then he’s like oH hold on before i forget come here

and he rummages through his bag and pulls out a velvet box from fuckign cartier

“this is for you. for tonight.” he opens it and your eyes nearly pop out of their sockets at the sight of this gorgeous diamond necklace and you don’t even get a chance to protest before yoongi’s taking it out and moving behind you to help you clasp it on

you reach up and pinch the diamond charm between your fingers and then you turn to look at him over your shoulder and you’re like yoongi i can’t just accept a diamond necklace from u

“fine i’ll take it out of your paycheque”

“yOONgI”

“i’m kidding i’m kidding c’mon let’s go”

the car ride there consists of you humming and bopping along to whatever song is playing on the radio

yoongi calls you out on not knowing the lyrics and you’re like u know whAt i could just leave you at this gala thing and go home

“then i’ll fire you”

“you’re mean”

“i’ve been called worse.”

“by who??”

“by yoU”

lolz

when you guys get to the gala

all you can say is woW because WOW

you’re parked across the street from this huGe mansion that literally looks like the white house

“a bug is going to fly into your mouth if you keep gawking like that” yoongi places a hand on the small of your back and walks you across the street and you feel all tingLy

“are you kidding me yoongi do you sEE this place it’s HUGE”

“there are like 1000 people here of course it’s huge”

welp

that just adds to your anxiety

you clutch your purse tightly when you see some very veRy fancy looking people walk past you and into the building

you really don’t belong here

and it seems like yoongi can read your mind

“don’t worry, y/n. i’ll be glued to your side all night.”

“and why is that?”

“so i can make sure you don’t accidentally knock something expensive over.” the two of you make your way up the stairs and your feet are already beginning to throb from your stilettos

“you know what i’m not thAt clumsy” right as you finish saying that you stumble a little over your heels and yoongi’s grip around your waist immediately tightens

“…you were saying?”

you clear your throat and grab his arm and drag him into the building

this is…. this interior looks like it was ripped straight out of some kind of fairytale

huge glass chandeliers

marble columns

waiters and waitresses evErywhere

their uniforms look more expensive than your entire existence

and then you spot it

the f o o d table

“oh my god i see tiny baby sandwiches” you gasp and immediately head for the sandwiches and but yoongi grabs your wrist and tugs you backwards “whAt are you doing i’m so hungry i’m going to eat like 100 of those let me gO- “

“mr min! it’s so nice to see you!” you shut up immediately when the two of you are approached by an older looking couple and you put on your polite smile

“mr lee. it’s nice to see you again.” yoongi gives him a firm handshake and then turns to his wife “mrs lee- looking lovely, as per usual.”

“still charming, i see!” and you’re tempted to be like lol yooNgi??? charming??? wheRE

“and who’s this lovely lady?” the man smiles at you and you’re like whoops time to introduce myself

“oh, i’m y/n! i’m mr min’s secreta-“

“date. she’s my date.” yoongi wraps an arm around your waist and draws you in nice and close and you’re like ! ? ! ?

y/n.exe has stopped working

okay okay coolcoolcool keep it casual nice and casual

anyways you shake the guy's hand and you shake his wife’s hand too and offer her a smile

“gorgeous necklace! who gave it to you?”

well

time to keep it casual

“yoongi did!” you pat his chest gently “he knows i have expensive taste even though i’m only worth like 50 cents and a pack of instant ramen.” everyone laughs and yoongi laughs along too but he’s not really focused because he’s just so,,, entranced by you

you’re so unbelievably charming and witty

and god you look good tonight

you look like a million bucks even though you told him you got your dress for 70% off the original price

“could you excuse us for a second? i need some alcohol in my system otherwise i don’t know if i’ll be able to survive tonight.” you excuse yourself and yoongi from the couple and link your arm with his and now he’s like ! ? ! ?

“buddy system, yoongi. you can’t lose me in this crowd otherwise you’ll have to find a new secretary.”

“i don’t see the problem with that.” he earns a slap on the arm for that comment and he can’t help but smile at the way you scowl at him

you hand yoongi a flute of champagne and pick one up for yourself and the two of you clink glasses before taking a sip

ahHhHHHH

this shit tastes frickin expensive

it’s like liquid gold

you’d drink the whole bottle if alcohol poisoning wasn’t a thing

“you should take me to more of these things” you hum and take another sip before wiping off a bit of your lip gloss staining the rim of the glass

“and why is that?”

“not only am i greAt at charming people i also happen to really really like champagne” you tsk and yoongi laughs lightly

“charming people? ah, yes. as proven by what you said when we first met.” 

“okay but if you weren’T min yoongi and you were some other person you totally would’ve thought what i said was charming”

“touché.”

the two of you spend the next half an hour just talking to each other

you’re having such a good time

yoongi’s a great person to talk to and with every passing minute you find your fondness of him growing and growing

you

are

so

whiPPEd

and with alcohol running through your veins you feel,,, a tad more confident

the buzz makes you feel giDDY

so you reach over and fix a strand of yoongi’s hair “i didn’t know this was a date, by the way.”

yoongi’s not surprised that you’re touchy when you’re tipsy

“what are you talking about?”

“i thought i was here as your secretary!!!!”

“you’ve never been on a date before and i’m a good samaritan who loves giving to charities”

“wha- i’VE BEEN on a dATE BEFore!!!” you scowl and yoongi rolls his eyes playfully “okay well it was more like a hangout with a bunch of friends but i really liked the guy and i think he liked me back and you know what he sat next to me when we were watching a movie so-“

“you don’t have to come up with a crazy story to try and convince me that you’ve gone on a date - this is your first date, and it’s with me.” he shrugs and downs the rest of his champagne “i have to go and talk to someone, will you be alright alone?”

“why can’t i come with you?” you whine and lean against yoongi a little and you’re a little too tipsy to notice his cheeks flare up

“because they’re all going to look at you like a piece of meat and i’d rather that didn’t happen.” you look over your shoulder and see a round table with a bunch of older men

your heart feels a lil fuzzy at the realisation that yoongi is,,, being very very protective of u

hm

yoongi hands you another flute of champagne and sets your empty glass down “you’ll be fine in the VIP section just enjoy the drinks and don’T move from this spot”

“but i don’t wanna stand here-“

“i’ll only be like 10 minutes, you whiney baby. here-” when you open your mouth to speak he pops an olive puff into your mouth and then pats your cheek and slips past you

you want to pout but it’s hard doing that when there’s foOd in your mouth so you just watch yoongi as he walks away

of course he turns back to glance at you and gives you a warning look that says if you move from ur spot i’ll shank you

you hate being alone at parties and now you’re alone at this fancy gala

so you resort to your usual solution

scrolling through your phone while standing by the food and drinks

about five minutes pass and you’re already getting bored of the tetris game you’re playing

and then you hear two voices belonging to two girls and they’re standing a little distance behind you

“you think she fucked mr min so she could come here? i bet i could’ve fucked him better.”

oh

oh hELL no

you would nEVER do something like that to get a job you’ve always believed in earning a position through hard work and determination

you want to turn your head and look at the two girls and confront them but you also want to hear what else they have to say

“oh, definitely. what a slut! fucked her way to the goddamn top. that’s how this business works when you’re desperate, i guess.”

you’re clutching your flute of champagne so tightly that your knuckles are starting to get white and you’re surprised the glass hasn’t cracked from the pressure

you can feel your entire face burning up with humiliation and you try to calm yourself by taking a sip of champagne but even good ol bubbly can’t help you

god

this was a mistake

you should have turned down yoongi

“the point is that she doesn’t belong here. especially in the VIP section with us??”

they’re right!!!! u don’t belong here!!!!!!! you are noWhere as rich and successful as these people,,,, you’re tempted to just ditch yoongi and go home

“that dress was a choice. this isn’t a strip club, honey.”

“god, look at her necklace. there’s no way a fucking secretary could afford that shit. how many times did she suck him off for him to give it to her?” the blonde snorts to herself - and raises an eyebrow in your direction

the introduction of a third voice makes you perk up

because that voice belongs to yoongi

he stands in front of them with his hands clasped behind his back

“zero times, actually. i suggest keeping your assumptions - which are all wrong, by the way - to yourselves.” yoongi smiles and tilts his head and the two of them go pale and exchange glances before looking down at the ground

it’s almost eery how calm and composed he is when he goes “miss cho, miss pak -  i can destroy your pathetic little cupcake company with one phone call. have a good night, ladies.”

he walks over to you and you’re like >:-) when you see the security guards guiding the two girls out

“thanks for doing that”

“i don’t know what you’re talking about” yoongi downs the rest of his drink and sets it down on the table before taking your champagne and putting it down as well

“you didn’t have to be so mean about it, though”

“i still don’t know what you’re talking about.” he pauses “and yes, i did have to be mean about it. i never really enjoyed these gatherings, anyway. let’s get some ice cream.”

“don’t you still have business to tend to?” you gesture back to the table of men

yoongi shrugs “they’ll call me if they need anything”

you nod slowly and look around one last time “i thought you didn’t like sweet things though”

yoongi is very tempted to say even tho he doesn’t like sweet things he certainly likes you but

the cheesiness of it all makes his entire soul criNGE

“i can make an exception”

he google maps if there are any ice cream places near the event and luckily there’s one about a six-minute walk away

and so the two of you begin the mini trek

you should have brought your cardigan with you

you underestimated how breezy it gets late at night

yoongi obviously notices this and proceeds to take his suit jacket off before wrapping it around you

you turn and give yoongi a smile even though he’s looking straight ahead

“don’t look at me like that”

“like what?” you hum and link your arm with his and yoongi freezes for a millisecond at the contact

he grumbles something under his breath and you don’t bother asking him to repeat it

“sorry for forcing you to go to this dumb thing with me”

“it’s okay, i had fun! plus you’re treating me to an ice cream in four minutes time so that makes everything worth it”

a comfortable silence falls between the two of you

and it’s just the sound of your heels clicking against the pavement mixed in with the occasional car driving by

goD his suit jacket smells like him and it’s making you feel all woozy

when you get to the cute ice cream parlour yoongi opens the door for you like a true gentleman would and when you give him a little curtsey in thanks he can’t help but roll his eyes playfully while the tiniest of smiles tugs at the corners of his mouth

you’re adorable

and if it’s even possible you become even more adorable at the sight of the large selection of flavours of ice cream there is

“oH MY god red velvet cake ice cream??” your nose is practically pressed up against the glass and your eyes are big and sparkly

there are only like one or two other people in the parlour at this hour and yoongi’s glad because that gives the two of you at least a lil bit of privacy

he looks around a little and turns his attention back to the ice creams

“CINNAMON BUN FLAVOURED- you shouldn’t have taken me here boss the sun is going to come up before i make a decision” you shake your head and tsk and yoongi laughs at that “what flavour are you thinking of getting?”

“i was just going to get the low-fat low sugar vanilla frozen yogurt.”

“oh bOO c’mon live a little grandpa” you snort and shuffle a little to scan over the other flavours

“it’s not my fault-“ yoongi pauses and squints his eyes “-apple pie ice cream sounds like the nastiest thing in the world”

“how about you go and get us some seats and i’ll choose your flavour”

“but-“

“if you don’t like it then i’ll let you get your low-fat low-sugar low-fun stupid vanilla frozen yogurt” you negotiate and yoongi’s like okay finE i guess

he’s about to reach into his wallet but you stop him and you’re like nope it’s mY treat go and find us a booth

of course before he goes and finds the two of you a seat he makes sure to slip the cashier a couple of bills and is like i’m covering for whatever she picks out

yoongi decides to go with a lil booth in the back

just for a little more ~privacy~

and now that he has a moment to himself

oh my god what the fucK is happening to him

he doesn’t do ice cream??

he doesn’t do arm linking??

giving his jacket to someone because they’re cold??? not his thing!!!! he ALWAYS puts himself first!!!!!!

but most importantly

he doesn’t do the whole

romAnce thing

like after the whole fiasco with lisa he was like lol i’m not going to put myself through thaT again and then you came along and RUINED everything by kissing him and making his heart go boom boom because he’s finally realising that you’re just so terribly sweet and nice and kind to him even tho he’s a grade A asshole most of the time

he literally can’t get you off his mind

he thinks of you before he goes to bed ( ;-) )

he thinks of you when he wakes up

and then he sees you most hours of the day and you’re always there with a bright smile and you’re like good morning boss! and he wants to EXPLODE because gosh darn it!!!! you are so cute!!!!!!

and now he’s having a crisis because right now in this stupid ice cream parlour at 1 in the morning he is realising that he 110% has feelings for you and wants to kiss the heck out of you

“i told you it was mY treat!!!!” yoongi snaps himself out of it when you slide into the booth to sit next to him and usually yoongi would be like um,,,,, why are you sitting next to me it makes sense for u to sit across from me u idiot

he’ll.,,,,,… he can make an exception for u

ahem

you slide his cup over to him and yoongi blinks down at it

this…. multicoloured monstrosity with tiny baby marshmallows and sprinkles and chocolate syrup on top

“what flavour is this?? diabetes??” yoongi frowns and twists the cup around a couple times to look at it from all angles

“haha, very funny” you stick a spoonful of your ice cream into your mouth (u went with blueberry cheesecake flavoured ice cream) “it’s birthday cake flavoured! it’s wild but it’s not toO wild”

“you call this not too wild??” yoongi takes a small scoop “i can tell u right now i’m not going to like this because birthday cake is a cake it doesn’t belong in an ice cream” he puts it into his mouth

and you watch him as he processes the many flavours swirling around in his mouth

o shit

dis shit is gud

“well?”

“…eh” he shrugs “it’s passable”

you reach out to take his cup “i can always eat it for you and get you your froyo if you “ yoongi slaps your hand away from his cup and glares at you

and in your head you’re like lolz i toLd you so

“you wanna try some of mine?” you offer him a spoonful and yoongi takes it almost immediately

“i like mine better” he shrugs and holds a spoonful up for you “try some.”

as you’re leaning in to take the spoon into your mouth yoongi’s pulling the spoon farther and farther away from you and he feels his heart go boom boom again when you pout and go yOOooOngi pls

you hum when he finally feeds you the spoonful and you don’t even realise your hand is on his thigh and you’re practically pressed up against him

there’s a moment of silence where the two of you kind of just stare at each other

you’re about to pull away when suddenly

a cartoon exclamation mark appears at the top of your head when yoongi leans in and presses his lips against yours

you want to whine when he pulls away like a second later but you compose yourself quickly

“you had some ice cream there” yoongi clears his throat and focuses his attention back on his ice cream

you’re tempted to smother ice cream all over your face if it means yoongi will kiss you again

yoongi’s eyes widen in surprise when you lean in and plant a kiss on his cheek

“you’re cute, you know that?” you murmur and yoongi grumbles that he’S not cute but his cheeks heat up anyway

the point is

you two are now realising

that you like each other

: )))

[screams into the void]

the car ride home is spent letting the radio fill the silence

your tummies are filled with ice cream

both your hearts feel warm and fuzzy (although that’s probably from the insane amount of sugar you guys consumed earlier)

yoongi parks in front of your driveway and is like c’mon i’ll walk u over

you kind of want to invite him in?? to talk about things?? like if he kissed u that must mean he likes you back but what if he’s only doing it because he still hung up over lisa and blah bLah

but for some reason u can’t find the courage because what if it’s true,,, that he’s only using you to get over lisa…. and you’re really enjoying this little bubble that the both of you are floating in right now…..

“i, uh, i’m just going to come out and say it” the two of you are standing by the entrance

you nod slowly and wait for him to continue

oh god

here it comes

he’s going to tell u he’s not looking for anything serious and then you’re going to have to deal with your romantic feelings for him for the rest of your life

“i had a lot of fun tonight, and i… i think i like you.”

you don’t even realise you’re holding your breath but all you can say is

“you like me or you like-like me????”

okay he’s going to ignore that question

yoongi literally feels like he’s in high school again he’s far too mature for this shit

“i liked you the day we met in the elevator and you unknowingly told me how much of an asshole i am, i liked you when you whined about getting my shitty sandwiches for me, i liked you when you made fun of me for not knowing how to tie my own tie the point is i like you and i like-like you. don’t… don’t make a big deal out of this i don’t have a lot of experience with confessions like this but i just need to know if you like me back or not”

yoongi feels his body beginning to cave in on itself when you stare at him like :0

he can’t even look you straight in the eye he’s just staring at the space behind you

“this is the part where you kiss me, yoongi”

he looks at you and he swallows thickly when you take a small step forward

usually he’s the one in power but right now you definitely hold the power over him

and then it happens

he leans down in one swift movement and presses his lips against yours

this is your third kiss with yoongi and it’s your seCOnd one with him toNIGHT

at first it’s a relatively innocent kiss

nice and slow

romantic

makes your heart flutter

but of course

the two of you know exactly where this is going

you feel your tummy doing summersaults when he grabs your hips and pulls you in closer

you wrap your arms around his neck loosely and grin when you feel his tongue prodding at your bottom lip and yoongi groans in his throat when you tangle your fingers in his hair and give him a little tug

“you wanna come in for some coffee or something?” you smooth down his collar and he presses a kiss to your mouth smartly

“…one cream one sugar?” you giggle and pull him in and the two of you stumble to the elevator

yoongi’s hands are aLL over you the moment you unlock your front door

your purse and your keys end up on the floor somewhere because you’re too preoccupied making out with yoongi while he presses you up against the wall

“i’ve wanted to rip this dress off of you the moment i saw you in it” your back arches so that he can unzip the back of your dress while he’s planting kisses to your neck and your shoulders

he lets out a throaty groan when he sees the lingerie you’ve got on underneath

you felt like tonight was an appropriate night to go full bougie so you treated yourself to some ~lingerie~

thank god you did

you gasp when you feel yoongi tug at your panties and you hear a couple threads snap so you slap his hand away

“yoongi!!! this wasn’t cheap!”

“i’ll buy you a new pair, fuck, i’ll buy you ten new pairs” yoongi groans against your neck and pushes his crotch into yours and you automatically forgive him

meanwhile you’re blindly unbuttoning his shirt

articles of clothing are tossed on the floor leading a trail to your bedroom

“you gonna be a good girl for me?” the bed bounces underneath your weight as yoongi gently pushes you onto the mattress

and goD he looks like sin standing above you and loosening his tie while looking down at you with dark eyes and swollen lips

“yes, daddy”

oh,,,,,,,, o oh my god

he wants to wreck you

“naughty little thing” he purrs then leans down to kiss you while slotting himself in between your legs

and the moan you let out when he rolls his hips against yours is something he’d want to listen to for the rest of his life it was possible

and then he’s leaving a trail of wet kisses down your neck and your chest and your stomach until his head is in between your legs

the coffee can definitely wait

; )

when he wakes up the next morning he’s surprised to see your chin propped up on his chest and you have the brightest smile on your face

“you like-like me”

yoongi groans and smacks you with a pillow to shut you up but he can still hear your muffled you like likE Me biTCH

the two of you get to work an hour late because yoongi decided he wanted to strip you out of your pencil skirt the second you changed into it

and everyone’s kind of like ?? what…… the..,.,.,.,fuuuuuu when the elevator doors open and they all catch a glimpse of you adjusting yoongi’s tie and yoongi leaning down to give you a kiss

you’re not sure if yoongi wants the entire office knowing about the two of you so you move to the side to let him walk out first but he grabs you and wraps an arm around your waist and walks the two of you out

and you’re like okay i guess this is a thing now

“good… morning, boss….”

“morning, sir…!”

yoongi pauses and turns back

“good morning, everyone. i hope you’ll all work hard today.”

and then he pushes you gently and the two of you continue walking down the hallway together

oh shit

yoongi just

yoongi just said good morning back

and now everyone’s even more confused because literally whose mans is this

you push his hand back up to your hip when you feel it sliding down a little and you retaliate by pinching his bicep

yoongi smiles and pinches your hip

you turn and look over your shoulder and it looks like the entire office is staring at the two of you like they’re just crowded around the beginning of the hallway

and jimin’s in the front like THAT’S. MY. BEST. FRIEND. Y’ALL. and he blows a silent air kiss to you and you blow one right back

wow

you love life

min yoongi and y/n y/l/n

b i g  d i c k  e n e r g y

yoongi joins you on one of your morning coffee runs because you spent the night at his place so he was like i might as well get coffee with u instead of u walking over here twenty minutes after we get to work

and ah

thIS is jungkook

hm

handsome guy

he can see the appeal

“morning, kook” jungkook perks up when he sees you

you turned jungkook down one morning when he plucked up the courage to ask you if you wanted to grab dinner and see a movie sometime

he was heartbroken for like one minute but when you said goodbye and gave him a tiny kiss on the cheek and told him if yoongi was out of the picture u definitely would’ve ended up with him and he was like :-)))))

the two of you are good friends and he gives you discounts sometimes

“morning, y/n! i’m guessing you’re here for the usua……l…..” and then his eyes very slowly,,, trail over to yoongi who’s standing next to you

he can feel his fiery gaze through his sunglasses

“yep!”

“throw in a cake pop. kook.” yoongi coughs and gestures to the cake pops in the display case

jungkook almost shits himself at how intimidating yoongi is

“y-yessir. right on it… sir.”

after you pay for everything and go over to wait you turn to yoongi and you’re like stop staring at jungkook you’re scaring him

and yoongi’s just like >:-) on the inside because he loves scaring people

when jungkook hands the coffee over to you his grip around the cups are so tight you’re surprised the lids haven’t popped off them

“thanks kookie” you take the paper bag from him and shove your elbow into yoongi’s side because jungkook isn’t staring at you he’s basically staring at the counter

“yeah. thanks, kookie.” yoongi offers a smirk and jungkook’s just in a state of [E N DM YS U F F E R I N G]

you give jungkook an extra large tip to make up for yoongi’s presence

even though you and yoongi are officially together that doesn’t mean you can slack off during work

and you learn this the hard way

sometimes you and jimin are too lazy to text each other so you end up calling him

he moved to a bigger cubicle thanks to you and it’s in a more ~secluded~ area because you know he works best in privacy

“oh my god jimin the other night he fucked me so hard he nearly broke my bed like i woke up this morning and i found a crack in the headboard but honestly i don’t even care because he made me cum like three times and i am so sorry but mr min’s schedule is booked up for the next week i’m afraid i can’t slot you in until next month! yes, goodbye!” you clear your throat and hang up and look up at yoongi who is currently looking down at you with a very amused smile on his face

“…hi boss” your voice cracks and you clear your throat quickly

“miss y/l/n. who was that?”

“oh,,, just some… guy… calling about a meeting… did you…. need anything?”

yoongi shrugs and shakes his head “i’ll be in my office”

but of course

because he’s yoongi

he can’t help himself and he stops before going into his office

“i made you cum four times. if you’re going to gossip at least get the details right. tell jimin to get back to work. and i’m still waiting for the revised copy of the contract that you said you’d type up an hour ago.”

maybe u and jimin should go back to texting

“i have parts of it revised but i-“

“got distracted?” yoongi’s eyes flicker towards the phone “don’t let it happen again.”

“buT jimin was the one who-“

“don’t blame other people for your own crippling procrastination.” your cheeks burn up and you let out a huff because yoongi’s turned into an asshole boss again

“pizza at my place tonight? we’ll leave at 5.” yoongi swoops down and steals a kiss from you and you’re like hoW do you go from asshole boss yoongi to boyfriend yoongi so quickly “you’re sleeping over again, by the way.”

you cup his cheeks and keep him awkwardly bent over so you can give him another soft kiss and he hums

“you owe me a new headboard, mister” you boop his nose and he swats your hands away before standing up and adjusting his tie “the main reason why i’m sleeping over is because i’m scared that if i lie down on my bed it’ll snap in half”

“you know, you could always just move into my place, baby. i want the contract in the next ten minutes or you’re working overtime.” yoongi leaves you with that comment and goD HE’S SUCH A..,.,.,., he’S SUCH a yOONGI

even before you and yoongi got together he always stressed the importance of not disrupting any of his meetings

there are a couple exceptions like that time he told you ‘you hAve to tell me when mr kim calls’ and when you did you got in trouble for it (he apologised about that and admitted - he only did it because he liked watching you get all riled up)

yoongi cut your lunch break short because he wanted you to re organize your desk (which was something that you were going to get to aFter lunch) so yA you were feeling a little salty because you were really enjoying your noodles

and yoongi’s in the middle of a meeting right now but you just came up with another exception

:-)

yoongi’s leaning back against his chair and keeping his eyes trained on the gentlemen currently talking about the stock market and recent increases and decreases

thank god he has resting bitch face all the time otherwise it’d be obvious that yoongi was boRed out of his fuckign mind

his phone buzzes on the table and the guy falters for a second but continues to speak when yoongi waves his hand

hm

interesting

it’s a text from you that just says : )

but something that’s more interesting

there’s a picture attached to the text

it’s probably just a meme you found off your Facebook feed

he should text you and tell you to get back to work

plus the guy isn’t even paying attention to yoongi he’s too busy explaining his pie charts

so yoongi technically isn’t being thAt rude

he unlocks his phone and opens the message app and

oh god

fuck

definitely not a meme

it’s a picture of u with your top unbuttoned exposing a sexy little bralette that definitely is not appropriate work wear

he didn’t see you put that on this morning whEn did youyou must’ve changed during work no wonder you took longer than usual to come back with his coffee

yoongi swallows thickly and lowers the brightness on his screen but looks back up at the presentation

he’s looking at pie charts but all he can think about is how badly he wants you over his desk

you’re slightly concerned when you see that yoongi’s left your message on read

uhHHhhHH

maybe this was a bad idea

maybe you pushed it too far this time

you were probably going to get in a lot of trouble

you’re chewing on your nails nervously but you’re like noPe i’m not going to overthink it and you set your phone down

it feels like a million years have passed when the meeting finally ends

you peek out from behind your desk when you hear yoongi walking down the hallway

and you feel a twinge of disappointment and humiliation when he walks past you and straight into his office

and then

it happens

“miss y/l/n. i’d like to see you in my office for a second.” and he has thAt look in his eye so you know you’re in a different kind of trouble

>:-)

instead of complying ur like oOf you know what i’m kind of in the middle of something i’m sorting out your-

“that was very clearly an order and not a question” and he disappears into the office and you’re just having the time of your LIFE

yoongi ends up fucking you on his desk with your skirt bunched up to your hips and your shirt completely unbuttoned so he can see this barely there bralette for himself

and you’re pretty sure he has a thing for your heels because he makes you keep them on

he has his hands pressed flat on the desk next to your head while your legs wrap themselves around his waist

“naughty baby, sending me a picture like that in the middle of a meeting…” yoongi growls and pushes your legs down and you let out a mewl at the pure pleasure coursing through your veins “say you’re sorry and i might let you cum”

“i’m- oh, god - i-i’m not sorry, though” even when you’re getting fuCked out of your mind you’re cocky and yoongi wants to fuck that smirk off your face

he delivers a particularly hard thrust that hits you right there and makes your back arch and your eyes roll to the back of your head

“i’m sorry - what was that? didn’t hear you, princess” and then he’s hitting that spot over and over and over and ovEr again and you’re gripping onto the edge of the table so hard you’re worried you’re going to snap a chunk off

“yoOngaaH! i’m s- i’m sorry i’msorryi’msorryplease i’m s so sorry” yoongi lets his head drop and he bites down on your shoulder as you claw down his back over his shirt

“good girl.”

this is like a 200 pound mahogany desk but he’s fucking you with such fervour that it begins to tremble underneath the two of you

after your mind blowing orgasm the last thing you expect is for him to turn you around and bend you over so your chest is pressed against the desk

yoongi bends down over you and you shiver when you feel his mouth against your ear

“you’re not getting away that easily” you whimper and the next thing you know yoongi is shoving his tie into your mouth to shut you up because he knoWs how loud you get when you’re overstimulated

he doesn’t bother teasing and pushes himself all the way in and lets his head drop to your back and just lets out this gutteral grOan

when you leave his office you’re all flushed and your shirt is wrinkled and buttoned wrong but yoongi isn’t any better

his hair is a mess and his shirt is mostly unbuttoned revealing the milky expanse of his chest that’s littered with splotches of your lipstick

he wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you in to plant a kiss on your cheek and then pats your bum and tells you to get back to work

one time you were going down on him and you freeze when you hear someone knock on the door so he makes you hide under his desk

it's jimin and he's like u..uh hey boss have u seen y/n?? i have to ask her to file this document for me but i haven't seen her anywhere

yoongi jolts when he feels you take him into your mouth again and he tangles his fingers in your hair when you start bobbing your head slowly

“sorry jimin, haven't seen her. come back in like... 20 minutes."

and jimin’s like okay yes sir and he shuts the door

after it’s all over jimin sEES YOU leaving yoongi’s office and he’s like oh y/n i was just looking for-

wait

but

but yoongi said he didn’t see you and

you were in his office and

your lipstick is smudg,,,,ed,,,,….., your hair.,,.,.., is kind of tousled,,, more tousled than usual…..

you and jimin are kind of having a stare off and you’re waiting for it to happen

and five seconds later it hits him

when he opens his mouth you slap a hand over it and you’re like i’ll buY YOUR LUNCH FOR THE NEXT WEEK just don’T SAY ANYTHING

jimin’s like no i don’t give a shit about you going down on him at work what i’M freaked out about is the fact that he seemed so calm and composed while you were sucking him off

min yoongi is a man of many talents and one of them is being able to hold a poker face for eternity

you unfortunately are not as talented at keeping it cool as your boyfriend

which is something he both loves and hates about you

tonight yoongi’s working late again which means that you have to stay late too

you don’t hAve to but,,,, you like to keep yoongi company and also being completely alone while he’s working forces you to actually do your damn job

“who are you calling?” yoongi steps out of his office and tugs his tie loose before rolling up his sleeves

“mr jung’s secretary- if he’s ever going to pick up the damn phone. i’m trying to reschedule your meeting with mr jung because it overlaps with your meeting with mr kim this coming thursday.” you don’t even look at yoongi when you speak and scribble something down on a post it note before sticking it on your wall calendar

“which mr kim?”

“the…” you pause to think “the one with the hair” you gesture to the top of your head

“…they both have hair”

“i know i know i’m saying this one is the one with the blonde- hi! hi, i’m miss y/l/n, secretary of mr min yoongi. i’m so sorry for calling so late into the night but i just needed to…”

he loves watching you work so hard

his little busy bee

yoongi grabs the arm of your chair and swivels you around so you’re facing him and you give him a look that says what do u want i’m busy

your eyes almost pop out of their sockets when yoongi drops to his knees and settles in between your legs

“of course, i can wait for a minute-“ the second the secretary puts you on hold you put a hand over the receiver (just in case he can still hear you) “yoongi, no!!”

“yoongi, yes.” your body automatically listens to him as he taps the side of your thigh for you to sit up a little so he can push your skirt up

“i’m on the phone, yoongi. you can’t do this right now just give me like three minutes” you hiss but your legs naturally spread for him and he just smirks up at you and is like mmmmm your body is telling me otherwise

you reach over and push the speaker button and then hang up the phone and thank god the secretary still has you on hold because you are using a range of very colourful words to scold your boyfriend

“i’ve called mr jung’s office before- his secretary puts you on hold for like ten minutes you’ll be fine” you don’t know how he does it but the next thing you know your panties are gone and your boss/boyfriend’s head is buried in between your legs

“oh goD yoongi please don’t stop” you whimper

his fingers dig into the meat of your thigh so he can keep your legs spread because you keep twiTCHINg

“hello?” you want to scream when the holding music turns off and the secretary comes back on

“yoongi stoP you have to stop” you gasp and arch your back against the chair and yoongi’s hand snakes up to push against your tummy

“pick up the phone and do your job” yoongi presses a kiss on your inner thigh before giving you a small nip and you thank the lords above he’s going to let you take this call first

yoongi leans back a little and fixes his hair

“hi, yes, hello” you’re a little breathless as you unmute yourself and you clear the throat

“i’m having a little trouble with the scheduling here. mr jung can only do thursday next week, otherwise i’ll have to pencil you in for next month.”

“he can’t do friday or anything?”

you give yoongi a warning look when he begins pressing a trail of warm kisses from the inside of your knee to your inner thigh

“i don’t think so.”

“when does his- oH” you nearly bite your tongue off when yoongi suddenly attaches his mouth to your clit and your fingers immediately tangle themselves in his hair

“sorry, what was that? didn’t catch you.”

“his- whendoeshislastmeetingonthursdayend??”

“uh.. hold on, let me check here…”

you bite down on the inside of your cheek and your head flops back against your chair as you focus on the ceiling and try your hardest not to moan

yoongi can’t help but smirk when the smallest of whimpers slips past your lips

it’s when hE lets out a low moan against you that you gasp loudly and your toes curl in your heels

“his last meeting ends at 6:30 that day how about mr min?”

“five forty fiVE” yoongi throws one of your legs over his shoulder and oh my goD you want to die this feels amazing and you can’t make any sounds and your body is currently telling you that hEY i’M ABOUT TO HAVE AN ORGASM

so that puts you in a panic because there’s no way you’re going to cum and have a normal conversation with a stranger so “you know what give me five minutes to reorganise mr min’s schedule and i’ll call you right back”

you hang up the call and the next thing you know you’re seeing stars and yoongi’s name keeps slipping past your lips in the form of whimpers and moans and yoongi is just soaking it aLL up

“that was a close call, no?” yoongi looks up at you from in between your legs and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand

“i hate you.”

[incorrectsanders]

Coffee Fueled Jealousy (Mall Employee AU)

HI ALL. It’s been a minute, but here’s the next installment of my Mall Employee AU! I’ve been really enjoying this AU, so please send more prompts! I’m always happy to do them. Master Post to the other installments here.

Relationship: N/A. Pre platonic DLAMP if anything. Sleepciet if you squint.

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Dee has been watching this stupid group of friends for months now. They won’t succumb to any of his attempts at stirring the pot and he’s tired of it. 

Warnings: Sympathetic Deciet, Deciet 

It didn’t start on purpose. The lies, manipulation. He was thirteen years old and alone in school. No one ever wanted to hang out with him which meant the majority of his time was spent huddled in the corner reading his book. The thing was that Dee never saw the point in filters. So, when this girl Kayla from his math came up to him (probably as a last ditch effort) and asked if he’d seen her friend he’d simply shrugged and pointed behind the science building where the girl was making out with Kayla’s boyfriend. The drama that ensued was just too amusing not to replicate. It started out as just wiggling his way into hearing all the dirt he could and spreading it across the school. Then, watching his parents passive aggressive arguments got boring and he started escalating those. Then, it all got boring and the lies started. He always made sure they were close to the truth, they were more believable that way. 

Dee knew it was bad, but he was bitter. No one was there for him, he didn’t even have anyone who cared enough about him to argue with him. So, he watched everyone else do it. 

When he got his job at Starbucks he sort of got his hopes up. A bunch of misfits working in a little kiosk in the middle of the mall? Maybe he’d actually make a friend. That hope slipped through during his first shift. Maybe things would have gone better if his manager hadn’t yelled at him within the first two hours of his first day. The first time Patton came up to him the tall man had those happy puppy dog eyes and he was so kind and cheery. Dee had no doubt that had he made the effort to smile back, Patton would have adopted him into the group right then. “Don’t worry, Vi, I already ordered yours!” “Pat, you didn’t have to do that!” “You got my boba the other day, its completely fine.” The interaction just made the all too familiar jealousy fire up in him again. Then, he watched the two take the third drink and run into the apple store to drop it off with a third friend. That's when he realized- he was working in a little kiosk in the middle of the mall. Oh, the power that held. *** The group got coffee every day, multiple times a day. It wasn’t hard to figure out who was who and where they worked. Patton, Virgil, Logan, Roman, Remy, Joan, Tayln, and Thomas. They always came and bought drinks for each other and each time Dee punched in the memorized orders he got a little more irritated. He’d watch them leave and meet each other in their stores and he hated it. It was annoying and they were so hard to crack. Weeks were spent trying to get to at least one of them and start some kind of fight between the friend group. It wasn’t working. “Venti iced americano with almond milk and a strawberries and creme frappuccino please, honey.” Dee looked up, quickly punching in the orders he easily recognized as Remy’s and Patton’s. He cast his eyes up and made sure to look concerned to the older man. “You know Patton, right? Is everything okay between him and that emo kid?” Remy smirked a little bit, tilting his head. “Patton and Virgil? Yeah, everything’s fine. Why?” He asked. “Nothing, I just heard Patton saying some things about him.” He shrugged nonchalantly. Remy laughed under his breath, looked around to make sure no one else was near, then leaned over and clasped Dee’s chin in his fingers. Dee was immediately frozen. “Oh baby boy, I manipulate for a living. That’s not going to work on me.” Remy purred, then patted his cheek twice before he walked over to wait for his drink. Yeah... yeah, that didn’t work. Counterproductive, really.  It was getting ridiculous. Seeing them being so close with each other was driving him up a wall. He wasn’t sure why, exactly. He’d seen plenty of friend groups before. There were even a few other friend groups in the mall that always hung around. He never cared about them, but for whatever reason he was absolutely enraged any time he saw this group or any of its members. “Roman can’t cover your shift tomorrow night?” Dee’s eyes flickered up to the two Sephora workers standing in line. “He said that he’s working Cheesecake that day. It sucks, I really need the day off but no other artist can cover. I might just have to use one of my sick days.” “Roman Prince?” Dee spoke up when the two girls got to the front of his line. “Uh... yeah.” One said, raising an eyebrow. “He came over earlier. He was talking about going out with his friends tomorrow night.” Dee said, shrugging. “That’s kind of rude. He seemed like he cared about his coworkers, you think he’d cover.” He said nonchalantly. “He did not!” One gasped. “You gave up seeing your boyfriend last week to cover his shift!” “I know- god, I’m going to make sure no one ever covers him again!” The other shrieked, turning and stomping over to the store. Her coworker simply sighed and ordered for the both of them. A small smirk crossed Dee’s face. This should be fun. *** “My manager wants to take away my position now! She wants to put me on registers and bump me back down to minimum wage. It’s so unfair- and I really have to work tomorrow! I showed her my schedule and everything but she said that shift leads shouldn’t be involved in drama!” Roman cried out. Dee smirked a bit as he leaned back against the wall and listened in to the conversation around the corner. “Kiddo, calm down. Everything will work out just fine.” Patton cooed. “Why would they think that? You always cover when you can, they all know that.” Logan asked. “They said a worker from Starbucks told them that I was talking about hanging out with friends tomorrow night!” “I bet it’s that one who keeps trying to start shit between all of us.” Virgil spoke up. Dee heard Logan groan in response. “That’s it- I’ve had enough!” “Lo, calm down.” “No, Patton! He’s been trying this for months now, and now he went after Roman’s job? I’ve reached my limit and that kid is going to pay!” Dee didn’t know why that didn’t make him happy. At least it had an effect on someone. Roman was crying, maybe he’d take down his ego a notch now. He felt kind of bad, though. He hadn’t meant to go after Roman’s job, he just wanted to start a little drama. If he’d known that it would put him at risk.... And god, when he peaked around the corner and saw Roman sobbing into Patton’s chest he just felt horrible. That was a first... Dee sighed, stepping around the wall and walking towards the friend group. The three older ones weren’t there, he noticed. That wasn’t good, they were older and would have held the others back. “Hey... Roman? I’m sorry about what I-“ He started, but then was cut off as Logan stepped forward. “I’ve had enough of you, insignificant little brat.” He hissed. “Logan!” Patton scolded lightly. “No! You’ve been constantly trying to make our friends angry with each other! We’ve been willing to let it slide but now you’ve taken it too far!” Dee’s face twisted up then. He was trying to apologize. Why was he only being met anger? Okay- he got it to a certain extent, but Logan wasn’t even letting him talk. “Well maybe if you all would act a little less disgustingly happy towards each other all the time, people wouldn’t be forced to stick their noses in.” He hissed back. That was a mistake, because next thing he knew he was on the floor with a split lip and Logan was standing over him shaking out his fist. “Logan!” Patton scolded, hitting his arm lightly before he leaned down to help Dee up. “He was trying to apologize, you big oaf!” “It doesn’t matter, Small, he’s been doing this for months now, do you really think that one little apology is going to cut it?!” “It’s too late to apologize...” Virgil sang quietly, actually making Roman giggle a little through his tears. Remy just snorted. “Not now, Starlight!” Patton and Logan scolded. Dee looked around at all of them, Virgil holding Roman even though Roman was bigger than him and rocking slightly on his feet, Remy standing over the two of them with a protective arm around their shoulders, and Patton and Logan bickering to each other while Patton checked Dee’s face. It wasn’t fair. They were clearly so close, they were all comforting each other and Dee just wanted that. He’s never gotten that... He reached up, lightly patting at his lip and whimpering when he brought his hand back and saw blood. Nothing was going to stop it then, he caught sight of it and immediately burst into little sobs. That’s when they all started panicking. None of them had ever seen any sort of emotion coming from Dee besides his little smirk. “Fuck, Logan, did you really hit him that hard?!” Virgil asked, passing off Roman to Remy. “I didn’t mean to!” Logan hissed, and suddenly Virgil’s hands were on him too, tilting his chin lightly and cursing. “Yeah, well he’s already bruising. Come on, let’s take him into the store.” He said. Dee shrieked a little when he felt himself being picked up, but then saw it was only Patton carefully taking him back into the halls behind the mall. Oh, they were probably going to the candy shop. Virgil’s dad owned it, right? He could hear small murmurs behind him from Remy, who still had Roman in his arms. “I know, baby. Don’t you worry, I’ll get everything sorted out at your work for you. I know your manager, she owes me. My poor, poor baby. Everything is going to be just fine, pretty baby. And look, we’ve got a new friend, don’t we? We already know Patton’s adopted him.” He hummed. Roman followed with small, teary giggles. “Alright, honey. Stop crying now, you’re ruining your pretty makeup.” Dee was confused. Adopted? What did that mean? He was carried into the chocolate store and set down on the back desk, and before he knew it he had Patton tending lightly to his lip and Virgil holding an ice pack against his jaw. “I’m sorry...” He croaked out as his sobs finally died down. “I’m sorry I- you guys were all just so close and I- I just got jealous...” He whimpered. “I really didn’t mean to put your job at risk, Roman...” He sniffled, reaching up to wipe the tears from his eyes. “It’s okay...” Roman said softly, rubbing at his own eyes. “Remy’s gonna fix it...” “Of course he is.” Virgil sighed. Dee watched as he walked over, then tapped the man’s nose. “Cryptid.” Remy smirked, grabbing Virgil’s waist and pulling him close. “You know it,” He purred. “HE IS A MINOR!” Logan shouted, grabbing Virgil and pulling him into his chest. “Mhmm... that’s what upsets you.” Remy hummed, then looked over at Dee and winked as he slid an arm around Roman’s shoulder. Dee glanced between all of them, sighing a bit and looking down. “Why are you being so nice to me?” He asked softly. “Well, kiddo.” Patton sighed, patting his cheek. “Sometimes people only act out because they’re lonely, or scared, or upset.” “I’m not-“ “Shh, that’s okay. Don’t worry, it’s all gonna be better now. Once Logan apologizes, anyways.” He said pointedly. “I will do no such thing.” Logan hissed. “Logan.” Patton growled, narrowing his eyes at him. “What do you expect? After all he’s tried to do to us, he deserved this, Small!” “Why do you call him Small?” He felt stupid for asking at a time like this, but he was extremely curious. Logan called Patton that all the time, he heard it, but Patton was a solid two or three inches taller than him. Both Logan and Patton glanced over at Dee in confusion. Dee watched as Logan’s eyebrows slowly knitted together and something flashed in his eyes. “It’s a... an old nickname I started using in high school. Before he grew to this height. He was my Small.” Logan said, his voice almost a mumble as his eyes scanned over Dee. “I’m sorry, Dee. I really shouldn’t have reacted so harshly, I haven’t done something like that since I was seventeen It was very childish of me.” He said. Both Patton and Virgil gave an approving nod, then went back to tending to Dee. The boy only tilted his head though. “Um... it’s okay... you know my name, though?” He asked softly. Logan rose an eyebrow. “Of course I do. All of us do. We see you nearly every day.” Dee looked down, trying not to cry again as Patton finished cleaning his wound. “All done!” Patton chirped, smiling and stepping back. “C’mon. We were about to get some food, do you want to join us? We’re meeting Thomas, Joan, and Talyn there.” “Okay...” They walked together to the restraint, and the entire time Dee was just in awe. After all he’d done they’d just... forgiven him like that? They wanted to go to dinner with him? No one had ever wanted to do anything with him. “Logan’s the most protective.” Dee looked up, frowning. Virgil had fallen into step next to him while the other four were just chattering away. “Huh?” “Logan is the most protective. That’s why he did that. He acts all logical and reasoning but the second someone is hurting he needs to step in. If it’s one of his friends, he goes crazy. That’s why he reacted like that. The nerd has the biggest heart out of all of us. Look, I know you never really meant to hurt us. I know how it feels, before these guys I never had friends. But don’t worry anymore, yeah? Just... be a cool person and we’ll all get along.” Virgil explained, giving Dee a small smile. Dee slowly nodded, glancing back over at the friends in front of them again. They... wanted to be friends with him now? *** “Dee! Thanks for helping, I got called into work and there’s no way Virgil can close alone tonight.” Thomas babbled as he entered the store. Dee nodded, giving a small smile. “Sure thing, Thomas.” He agreed, just as Virgil walked out of the back with a tray of chocolates that needed to be put away. “Heading out, Dad?” “Yeah, you’re sleeping at Patton’s tonight, right?” “Mhm! Have fun with Joan and Talyn!” He chirped, smiling and waving Thomas off. Virgil turned to Dee as he set the tray down, nodding lightly at him. “Okay, just take all of the checks under my name. Dad will pay you under the table, it’s easier than getting everyone on payroll.” He explained. “I have to finish packing up this whole order, so can you do me a big favor and just start washing the dishes in the back?” “Yeah, sure.” Dee nodded. Except there was a problem. When he tried to turn on the water, he hadn’t realized that the dishes were stacked up to the point where the water would spray off of them and onto the rest of the back room. Then, it was too cold to jump into and turn off, and when he tried the entire front of his clothing got soaked. He tried running at it and doing it quickly, but then only managed to slip. By the time that he got it turned off, the entire back floor and a few of the boxes stored were soaked and his ankle hurt. Of course. Typical. He gets a friend group- an actual friend group that he enjoys being around and then he goes and pulls this shit. It hadn’t even been a month yet, and he already messed it up. When he thought about it like that he couldn’t even hold back his tears. Virgil walked back a few minutes later, glanced around, then rose an eyebrow. “I left you… for ten minutes.” He said slowly. Dee only let out a small sob. “What did you even do?” He laughed lightly. “I’m sorry!” “Dee, it’s fine. I’m actually kind of impressed.” He said, helping the other up and shaking his head. He grabbed a few rags to wipe up the water and grinned. “We have to mop soon anyways.” He said. Dee watched as he started to clean, then smiled. “Wanna come sleep over at Patton’s tonight? He’s picking me up after closing, we can swing by your place and get some clothes for you.” Dee just nodded lightly. He didn’t know how... but he actually had people who cared about him and wanted to be around him now. People that he didn’t want to manipulate and lie to for a change. It was nice.

[urdearestmom]

I Love You A Latte

so ao3 won’t let me post this for some reason. I’ve been working on it for about five months and it’s probably trash but here is this monster, the longest oneshot i’ve ever written!!!!!!!!!! 

i’d like to dedicate it to @robynhoots because she loves mileven just as much as i do and also @fatechica because her 27k chapters of solely quality content inspire me :DD thanks ladies!!!!!  

El looks up as the door opens, and there they are again. The redheaded girl and the tall guy, pushing each other through the entry and glaring. It's a regular occurrence, so she knows that's just how they are and not that they're about to punch each other out or something. El turns away to wipe down the counter, trying to avoid staring at the couple as they head to a table and spread out their belongings. She can admit that she low-key has a crush on the dude, but he's clearly another girl's boyfriend and she's not going to get herself in the way of that. It's just a crush, after all.

He comes up to the counter and awkwardly smiles at her. The pair always comes at this time, when this particular Starbucks isn't very busy, so there's no one else working the register and machines.

"Hi, what can I get you today?" El asks. She always feels a little bit like her feet are about to lift off the ground from nerves whenever Mike comes to order instead of his girlfriend. He's so tall it should be intimidating, but it only would be if he was thicker. As it is, he's a walking bundle of twigs with a mop of dark hair on top. For some reason, El finds it attractive. She thinks he's just about the cutest guy she's ever seen: dark hair, dark eyes, a face splashed with freckles. She just wishes he wasn't already taken.

"A tall iced coffee with milk and a grande chai latte for Mike and Max, please," he answers, pulling his wallet out.

"Don't get my order wrong!" Calls the redhead from their seats, smirking.

Mike rolls his eyes and huffs exasperatedly. "I've never gotten her order wrong in my life," he says, looking at El and shaking his head.

She plasters on her customer service smile and replies, "That'll be six eighty-nine, please."

They've been coming in since before she even started working there, El thinks. At least, her manager told her that Mike and Max had been regulars for a long time when she asked. So they've been together for a while. El's kind of envious, not just because she thinks Mike is cute, but because they seem like the type of couple everyone wants to be. They're confident together, and they look happy. Well, sometimes. Most of the time one of them is ribbing the other while their partner fumes. A lot of the time they come in just for drinks and a study session, spreading out books and laptops across wherever they've decided to sit that day, and they'll spend hours sitting across from each other without saying a word. She's never seen them kiss or hold hands or anything of the sort, but El figures maybe they're just not into PDA (which would suck for her if they were).

Their relationship is actually kind of aggressive. Whenever El's not super busy (which is always), she likes to watch them, and she's noticed that Max seems to like hostile physical interaction. She slaps Mike upside the head or punches him in the arm a lot, and sometimes she even kicks him, but he always retaliates by either pulling her hair or with a slew of sharp words. It's an interesting dynamic, and El wonders if she weren't so shy, would she have been able to make friends with them? She kind of wants to. God knows she needs friends; this is her third year in college and she barely has any.

It's on one day, when Max comes in alone, that El decides that she's going to talk to her. It's less of a task without Mike there because he makes her nervous, and Max seems like the type of girl who'd be open to a conversation. She's also in one of El's sociology classes, so that could be something to talk about.

The redhead is leaning against the end of the counter as El makes her regular chai latte, blowing strands of hair out of her face. El takes a deep breath and opens her mouth to speak before she loses her courage. "So, what are you studying?"

Max jerks back to attention. "Sorry, what?"

El gulps. "Um, what- what are you studying? You know, like, what are you in college for?"

"Oh," Max says, nodding. "I'm in marketing."

"That's cool," El answers, turning off the machine before passing off the cup to the other girl. "You like it?"

Max rips open a packet of sugar. "It's fine, I guess. Never really what I pictured myself doing, growing up, but I'm here and I'm not bored and I don't hate it," she replies, pouring the sugar in. "What about you?"

El takes a quick look around the store, noting that there are no new customers. "Developmental psych, but sociology minor. You enjoying Tepperman's class?"

Max's eyes widen. "I knew I recognized you! Ellen, right?"

"Eleanor, actually," El says, smiling. "Old nickname, it's my middle name. It stuck."

Max smiles back. "Hey, I don't wanna take you away from your job or anything, but the store looks pretty empty so… you want to come sit down? I have so many questions about that goddamned class and my friend is busy today so…"

No way is El going to pass up the opportunity to begin what she feels could be a beautiful friendship. "Sure!"

It goes naturally from there. El sits down with Max whenever she's alone, and they exchange phone numbers shortly after their first meeting. A few times, she even sits down when Mike is there too, although she talks a lot less because she feels like she's intruding on their time together. She finds that Max is a spitfire, just exactly as she looks, and that Mike is a really nice guy with a sharp tongue. He's an engineering major (somehow, that makes him even more attractive. El needs to get over it). They mention someone named Lucas a lot, but neither of them ever specifies who that is and El doesn't want to ask. She assumes he must be one of their friends.

It's been about a month since she first talked to Max, and she wonders if she's ever going to meet their other friends, or if she's just the random Starbucks employee they talk to sometimes. The answer comes one afternoon when Max gets up to leave.

"I'm gonna head home to get ready," she says, swinging her bag over her shoulder and nodding at Mike.

"Alright, guess I'll see you later then," he answers. "Try not to ravage the bathroom while you're at it, would you?"

She rolls her eyes. "Fuck you." She's standing there looking between El and Mike as if waiting for one of them to say something.

"Are you leaving or what, Mayfield?" Mike asks exasperatedly. Max stands there for a moment more before winking at him. He sinks lower in his seat, flushing. "Kindly fuck off, I'll see you later."

She laughs and walks away, waving as she pushes the door open and disappears onto the street.

"So you guys live together?" El asks, picking at her nails and trying not to make it obvious that the new information makes her uncomfortable. Clearly, there's another level of commitment here that she hadn't been aware of. It makes her crush on Mike even more awkward than it already is.

Mike sighs, reaching for his drink and taking a sip. "Yeah. It's easier to live with someone you know than to room with people you've never met. It could be a gamble with new people, but Max and I have known each other our whole lives."

"Oh? How'd you guys meet?"

"We were neighbours and our parents were friends so we grew up together, but we kind of hated each other until like, junior year," he says, tracing a finger around the rim of his cup. "Shit happened and we realized that neither of us was as bad as we thought. Been inseparable since."

Suddenly, he laughs. "Ask anyone from our hometown about Mike Wheeler and Max Mayfield, they'll tell you. Anyway," he adds, leaning forward, "We're heading out to Detroit tonight, it's our friend's birthday. We were wondering if you wanted to come? If you're off work, that is."

El's shocked, and she doesn't know what to say for a moment. Mike must take this the wrong way, because he says, "It's no problem if you don't want to! It's just, the others want to meet you. We talk a lot about you."

"You- you do?"

He smiles. "Yeah! You're really cool."

Her heart flutters, even though she tells herself not to let it. "Um- yeah, my- my shift ends at six-thirty, is that enough time?"

"Totally," he says enthusiastically. "We're all meeting up at mine and Max's place before we leave, I'll text you the address."

A few moments later, her phone buzzes, and when El looks at the address she's surprised to find that- "We live in the same building!"

"Oh, cool! We're on the eighth floor, apartment 8D," Mike says, pointing at her with his straw. "You should come by sometime."

El scoffs. "Yeah, maybe, if you need help with your humanities classes."

Mike's smile disappears and he clutches his chest dramatically. "You're starting to sound like Max! Where is the nice, kind El I once knew?! Where hath she gone?!"

She snorts, then covers her face, her eyes widening. "Oh my god, that was nasty. I am so sorry you had to hear that."

Mike shrugs. "It was kind of c-"

"Also, you're so dramatic," El adds, forging on.

He laughs again. "That's what happens when you have two sisters and end up living with Max Mayfield, biggest drama queen on the planet."

"I feel like she would dump your ass on the side of the road if she heard you say that," El says, tapping her nails against the table.

Mike snorts, taking a drink. "She would. I'm sure she's considered kicking me out just for breathing too loud sometimes."

El's about to respond when the door opens and a customer enters. "Well, guess it's time for me to get back to work!"

She's not free for another hour, and by then it's six-fifteen. When she looks around the store, she sees that Mike is gone. She frowns. She hadn't noticed him leave, but when she checks her phone for the text she'd gotten about half an hour ago it's from him.

Mike [5:43 PM]: Hey sorry I left without saying bye you looked busy but 8D around 8pm ok?

[6:16 PM]: I'll be there dw haha, she responds.

He texts back immediately. Mike [6:16 PM]: Cool see you soon :D

El slips her phone back into her pocket with a smile and turns to see one of the baristas for the shift after hers clocking in. "Hey," she says. "Kinda dead in here and I've got somewhere to be, do you mind if I clock out now?"

At quarter to eight, El's ready. As she makes her way to the eighth floor of her building, she's wondering what the others will be like. She likes Mike and Max just fine and they seem to like her, but will she fit in with the rest of the group? Then she's in front of 8D and she's knocking on the door. There's some muffled yelling from inside (likely arguing about who's going to open the door) and a few moments of silence before it swings open.

Max stands on the other side, dressed in a nice white blouse tucked into fitted black pants. She's got red lips, but other than that her makeup is pretty simple, and half of her hair is straightened. She grins. "Come on in, El. Mike'll be out in a second, he's just being a bitch. Michael!"

There's a muffled "I'm coming!" From somewhere inside the apartment, and then Mike comes out of a room at the end of a hall, messing up his own hair.

"Hi," El says as Max disappears back into what El assumes is the bathroom. "Since when is your hair curly?"

Mike blushes, actually blushes, putting his hands into his pants pockets. He's in a light blue polo and navy pants, a matching blazer thrown over top, and El thinks he looks great. The curly hair is new, though. "Uh, this is what it looks like if I don't blow dry it," he answers, laughing nervously. "Which I always do, but someone's hogging the bathroom!"

"Fuck off, Wheeler! You should've come home earlier but you were too busy ogling a certain someone to remember what time it was!"

At that, he blanches and stalks toward the bathroom door, wrenching it open. "Do you want to shut your mouth for once in your goddamn life, Max?"

Max doesn't answer, but El can hear her humming to herself, ignoring Mike completely. El wonders who he was staring at. Are Max and Mike having problems? For a second she lets herself be selfishly happy that they might, because maybe it'll give her an opening, but then she quickly reprimands herself for thinking that way. They're her friends, she's not going to wish something as horrible as a breakup on what seems to be a perfectly good relationship.

Mike gestures awkwardly around. "Shall I give you the tour? The others aren't here yet. Lucas said they've got him on a late night at the observatory, Max, by the way!" He calls toward the other girl.

Max curses. "And to think I was excited about tonight!"

"It's Dustin's birthday, we have to celebrate anyway! He's already bummed enough that Lucas isn't coming," Mike replies. He turns to El. "Anyway, that's the bathroom," he says, gesturing to where Max is. Motioning to the general area beyond the front door, he tells her it's the living room-slash-kitchen, which is made obvious by the TV/sofa combination on one side and kitchen appliances and furniture on the other. Also, the entire apartment is the same general layout as hers, but she lets him talk anyway. Listening to Mike talk is a guilty pleasure.

The only thing different from her apartment is the fact that this one has two rooms. "That's Max's," Mike says, leading El down the hall and pointing to the door left slightly ajar, "And this is mine." He opens the door directly across to reveal a nicely sized room with a queen-size bed and a dresser in it. It's not messy like she expected it to be, which is nice. It means Mike's not a messy person. What she does question, though, is why they sleep in separate rooms, but she keeps it to herself. Maybe Mike snores, or maybe Max is a kicker.

There's a knock on the door and Mike goes to get it, revealing a man a few inches taller than El with light brown hair and green eyes. He has a kind face, and El takes to him right away. "This is Will," Mike says, gesturing the man in. "Will, this is El."

Will smiles and extends a hand. "The El I've heard so much about?" A look passes between him and Mike, and then Mike glares at him and Will laughs. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," El says. She stands in the living room with Will and Mike for a few minutes, talking, until there's another knock.

"That'll be Dustin," says Will, and Mike lets in another man with curly hair that's got a weird shape to it. It looks like he wears a hat over it all the time, and that's when El recognizes him as the hat-wearing guy from her abnormal psych class.

"Hey," she says. "I'm El." She extends a hand to shake one of his. "You're in Denton's class, right? The guy with the hat?"

Dustin grins. "You got me! And you must be the El we've all been waiting to meet. Mike talks about you a lot." He coughs, looking over her shoulder. "Um, Max does too," he adds.

El thinks it's a little weird that he specified that, but she's not going to question him about it. The four of them spend a few more minutes wishing Dustin a happy birthday and talking as they wait for Max, and El finds that she likes Will and Dustin a lot. They're easy to talk to and really funny. She feels like she is fitting in, after all. When Max emerges, she goes straight to the birthday boy to give him a big hug, and then pulls back and says, "El's coming with me, I want some girl time before we spend the entire night with you boys."

"Don't say anything weird to her, Max," groans Mike.

"Don't get your panties in such a twist then," she retorts.

Will and Dustin smile, used to their friends by now, and El just looks on in slight amusement. Max drives a Smart car, so it only fits two people anyway, and the three boys pile into Mike's blue Kia Forte before they all peel off to the interstate in the direction of Detroit.

The girls travel in comfortable fun, talking and making jokes as usual, but with the addition of singing along to the radio. It's all good and happy until twenty minutes into the drive when Max goes in for the kill.

"So... you like Mike, right?"

El almost chokes on her own spit. She's trying to hide her shock as she turns the radio down a little bit. "Um, yeah, I guess? We're friends," she says mildly.

Max smirks as if she knows something El doesn't and shakes her head. "You know that's not what I meant."

El swallows, tugging at one of her curls. Her crush's girlfriend is asking whether she likes him. What is she supposed to say to that? Turns out, Max already has an answer.

"I know you do, you're kinda obvious," she says. "Although I can see why you might not want to admit it. I think it'd be a little embarrassing to have a crush on that. But that's just me, I guess."

Now El's wondering what the hell is even happening. Max doesn't seem angry at all, quite the opposite in fact. She seems pleased that another girl has taken an interest in Mike. Which is... completely bizarre, to say the least. Maybe they want a threesome or something. "You're not mad?"

Max's eyes look like they're going to fall out of her head as she looks at El. "Why would I be mad?"

El looks down, wanting to avoid eye contact with the other girl. "I mean... if I had a boyfriend and another girl liked him, I don't think I'd be happy about it."

It's dead silent for a few moments but for the radio, until Max bursts out laughing.

"Oh my god!" She exclaims. "You thought he was my boyfriend?!"

El's cheeks flush in embarrassment. "Yeah..."

Max is still laughing. "I can't breathe," she wheezes. She's silent for a few moments before her face wrinkles. "He's not. That's so gross I can't even imagine it."

"But you guys are so close, I just thought..." El trails off, refusing to look at the redhead.

Max shakes her head. "Mike's like my brother, in every way. I don't even like him most of the time, I just put up with him."

El looks out the window, taking a deep breath to gather her courage, much like the first time she spoke to Max. "Okay, so I like him. Why did you want me to admit it?"

Max smirks again. "Tonight's the perfect night to make your move."

"Nope," El shakes her head. "I am way too anxious for that. Also, I don't want our friendship to be awkward if it doesn't go through."

"Why wouldn't it, though? He's liked you since you were in his classics lecture. You know-"

"He was in my classics?"

"Yes," Max says exasperatedly. "But that's not the point. You know we started going to Starbucks way more often after you got a job there? I'm broke because of his bitch ass wanting to see you all the time but never saying anything," she adds with an eye roll.

"I- okay," El says. "I'll try."

Max reaches out to clap her on the shoulder. "Atta girl! And for the record, I'm dating Lucas."

El smiles. "I'll keep that in mind for when I meet him."

Upon arriving in the city, El spends her time looking out the window and marvelling at the sights. She only passed through Detroit on her way to college the first year, and since she hasn't had many friends, she hasn't had many outings. The city is new to her, and she loves all the lights and colours and people walking around. Max pulls up in front of a small restaurant and the boys park behind her, everyone getting out of the cars and stretching for a moment before walking into the establishment.

El ends up beside Mike (because of course she does), Will and Max across from them and Dustin at the head of the table. Dinner runs smoothly besides Dustin burning his tongue on the soup he ordered, El fitting into the group seamlessly. It's looking to be a great night, but El's wondering how Max thinks she's supposed to make her move. She can't exactly do it in a restaurant, can she?

Her opportunity comes in the form of the group going to a club. Dustin's just turned twenty-one, but the rest of them are already overage so they might as well enjoy themselves, right? The three non-drivers have spent the last half hour or so knocking back mojitos, margaritas, and daiquiris, so Max and Mike are sitting off to the side enjoying watching their friends lose their inhibitions. El's very aware of the fact that she's drunk, but it's also literally liquid courage, so she's going to use it to her advantage. She's just drained her piña colada and slapped the glass back onto the bar when she grabs Mike's arm and tugs him away with her.

"Come dance with me," she says. She doesn't allow him time to respond before she's squeezed them into the mass of writhing people on the dance floor. He's moving along with her, but he's clearly feeling awkward if his erratic movements and half-smile are anything to go by.

"I'm not very good at dancing!" He yells in an attempt to be heard over the thumping bass.

"That's okay!" She yells back, swinging her hips and raising her arms. "Just move with me!" It's kind of funny, El thinks, that she's even doing this at all. Hanging out with Max must have made her develop some kind of outgoing kink (or maybe it's just the alcohol). Whatever it is, El's having a good time. Suddenly, a thought occurs to her. Mike's arms are just hanging limply by his sides, swinging around slightly as he rocks himself from side to side, but she would love to feel his hands on her. So she does the only logical thing: grabs his wrists and puts his hands on her waist.

He looks down at her in surprise but when he sees that she means business he lets his hands rest where they are and presses his fingers into the sliver of skin between her top and her jeans. That sends the best kind of shiver down her spine and Mike must feel it because he sends the most devilish grin her way. He's moving a little more in sync with her now because of where his hands are; he knows which way she's going to move right before she does it. They stay like that for a bit, progressively getting closer to each other until they're practically chest-to-chest and standing between each other's legs, but all of a sudden Mike gets a weird look on his face and rushes off to the restroom. El doesn't want to look like a fool dancing by herself, so she returns to the bar with a scowl. Upon seeing her, Max bursts out laughing.

"Did he leave you out there by yourself?" She asks, watching El order another cocktail.

El slumps against the bar and pouts. "We were having a good time dancing, I don't know why he left!"

The other girl cackles. "Probably went to go rub one out in the restroom!"

"Max!" El reaches out to slap her on the arm. "Don't be gross."

Max smirks. "He's a young man with needs, El! And also insanely attracted to you, I'm probably right."

El sends her a grumpy look and gratefully accepts her drink from the bartender. "Where's Will and Dustin?"

Max shrugs. "Dustin felt sick so he went outside to get some air, and I think Will saw a hot guy somewhere on the dance floor."

"He's gay?"

"Very," Max says. "You ever need guy advice, Will's the one you want. He's not called Will the Wise for nothing."

El takes a sip from her martini and nods thoughtfully as if considering, looking into the crowd. She perks up when she sees a mop of messy hair floating above it, correctly identifying the person as her man of interest. Mike slinks up to the bar and gives El a weak smile.

"Sorry about leaving," he says. "I just... had to use the restroom."

Max scoffs at him. "Sure, like we don't know why."

He throws her a look. "I swear to god, Mayfield. Where's the guys?"

Max rolls her eyes and El stays silent, sipping some more martini. "Dustin's outside getting some air and Will saw a hot guy somewhere."

"Mm," Mike agrees. "I did see some. Michigan's got more hot guys than Indiana ever did, that's for sure."

Max laughs and El looks up at Mike curiously. "You like guys too?"

He nods. "Mostly girls, but every now and then I'll see a really good-looking man and remember that the grass is green on both sides."

El hums before poking him in the arm. "You look like a frog, did you know that?"

Max tries and fails to hold back a snort and Mike looks hurt for a second before regaining composure. "Really?"

"I think so," El says, and giggles. "But I like frogs, they're cute. And! I had to do a project on frogs in second grade and I always liked them. Froggy froggy froggy," she adds, with a poke on each 'froggy'.

All things considered, it's a good night. Dustin doesn't throw up, Will gets the guy's number, and El gets in a few more dances with Max. When they're leaving, Max volunteers to take Dustin home.

"He rooms with Lucas," says Mike knowingly. "She probably won't come back."

He bundles Will and El into his car with him, and the two of them sit in the back gushing about the guy who caught Will's eye the entire way home. After they drop Will off at his place, the first floor of a duplex about two blocks away, El's almost asleep and Mike has to practically drag her out of the car and into their building. He's got an arm hooked around her waist to help her, but that just means his body heat is radiating even further. She kind of wants to latch onto him and curl up like a baby koala on its mother, but she still has enough self-restraint not to.

"El," he says, "El, which floor are you on?"

"Fourteenth," she answers sleepily. "But I don't know where my key is. I wanna sleep."

Mike sighs. "Is it okay if you stay over? Max probably won't be back, so you can take her bed. I don't want to take you upstairs and then have you spend forever looking for your key."

"Okay."

And that's how she ends up spending the night in her crush's apartment. It's a good sleep, but she wakes in the morning with a bad headache and a terrible taste in her mouth. Her whole body hurts. The only good things are that someone's left an aspirin and a glass of water on the bedside table, and that she can smell something cooking.

El takes the pill and then groans when she looks at her phone and sees that it's only nine o'clock. Seems her body clock is still working. She hears steps coming down the hall, deducing that the noise was loud enough to attract the attention of whoever was in the kitchen.

Mike's head pops into the room, a sunny smile attached to his face. "Good morning, sleepyhead!"

"Fuck this shit."

He frowns. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"My hangovers are terrible."

"Are there good hangovers?" He asks with a laugh. "Come on, I'm making breakfast. Hope you like waffles!"

The truth of the matter is that waffles are actually El's favourite food, so she rushes to get herself to the kitchen.

"Waffles are the best food, no contest," she says, watching as Mike takes fresh waffles out of a waffle toaster and puts them on a plate.

"Well, then I hope mine will live up to your expectations," he answers, setting the plate in front of her and turning back to the machine.

He's laid out whipped cream and some other stuff (syrup, M&Ms, and strawberries) on the table, so El puts some of each on her waffles and digs in. They're heavenly. They're fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside, just the right texture and sweetness. She nearly cries with delight.

Mike seems to pick up on this, because he's sort of smirking when he joins her at the table. "You like?"

"Do I?" El exclaims. "Best waffles I've ever tasted!"

He's smiling as he digs into his own plate of crispy deliciousness. "I'm glad you like them, but if you want really good waffles you should go to Belgium."

"I'm too poor for that," El says around a mouthful. She swallows. "College student, and all? But I'd love to. Where'd you learn to make waffles this good?"

"I used to work at Waffle House in high school. The only reason they didn't fire me before I left was that I was the best damn waffle maker that town ever had."

"But?"

"But what?"

"I sense that there's a but here."

Mike laughs. "But I learned to cook with my mom. My younger sister was too little to cook, my older sister was useless in the kitchen, and my dad is…" He trails off. "Anyway, I liked cooking and I was good help, so my mom sort of took me under her wing and showed me the ropes. I can cook pretty much anything if you give me a recipe, but baking is a whole other ball game," he says, making gestures with his fork.

"Good to know you and Max aren't starving all the time, then," El replies dryly. She's smiling.

Mike squints at her. "You're something, El. Really something."

After that, Mike starts coming into her Starbucks by himself often. Two months go by where there's not a day that she doesn't see him, whether it be at Starbucks by himself and with Max, or in their apartment building. Upon discovering that the three of them live in the same one, Max and Mike have hung out with El a lot more. He also texts her frequently.

Frogge 🐸[4:53 PM]: victreebel.mov

It's a video of Victreebel screeching.

[4:53 PM]: Why do u text me such weird shit

Frogge 🐸[4:53 PM]: I thought it was funny :(

[4:54 PM]: I'm working

Frogge 🐸[4:54 PM]: And I'm impatient

[4:55 PM]: Hi impatient I'm El.

She puts her phone in her pocket just in time to get the finished cup of coffee to the customer, then pulls it back out again.

[4:56 PM]: Come inside for 5 mins dumbass I'm almost done

Within a literal half-second, Mike's standing at the door in all his windswept glory. It's a windy April day outside, most of which El had avoided by arriving at work before the wind picked up. Unfortunately, Mike hasn't been so lucky, coming to meet her as soon as his exam finished. Two days ago, he'd texted her in the middle of the night asking when she was free.

Frogge 🐸[2:34 AM]: Ellie

[2:34 AM]: Mike its 2:34 am

Frogge 🐸[2:34 AM]: You're awake too whats your point

[2:35 AM]: Yes froggy

Frogge 🐸[2:35 AM]: Smh that's so rude

Frogge 🐸[2:35 AM]: When are you free

[2:35 AM]: U have distracted me from my sleep for this

[2:35 AM]: U could've easily asked me in the morning

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: I couldn't sleeeeeeep

[2:36 AM]: Not my fault

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: El please

Frogge 🐸[2:36 AM]: Its important

[2:36 AM]: Wednesday after 5 or Friday after 6:30

[2:37 AM]: Why

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: :DDDDDD

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: You'll see :)

Frogge 🐸[2:37 AM]: Wednesday !

She has no idea what it is that he has planned, but as she removes her barista apron and clocks out, he's bouncing on his feet, a huge smile on his face. "You really look like a frog when you smile like that," she says, reaching up to give him a hug. It's become their customary greeting since he started it a few days after that morning in his apartment, and every time it happens it leaves El happy with a positive, glowing warmth around her. It makes her wonder if kissing him would have the same effect.

"Come on," he answers excitedly, latching onto her hand and pulling her out the door. The wind is blustering but that doesn't stop Mike from tugging El down the street with gusto, only coming to a stop when they reach the Subway near the corner of Packard and S State.

Once inside, El smiles and asks, "Out of one food place and into another?"

Mike waves her off. "Subway is better than Starbucks," he says, leading her to the counter.

"And yet you're in Starbucks almost every day," she retorts.

He rolls his eyes before looking up at the menu. "Yeah, but that's only because you're there."

She doesn't know what to say to that.

They each order a sandwich because, well, it's Subway, and a bag of chips. El doesn't finish hers, so it's more like Mike ends up eating a bag and a half. It's as he's sitting back, patting his stomach, that El finally lets her curiosity get the best of her.

"So why'd you bring me here?"

He grins. "Alright, so here's the thing. I don't know what your plans are for the summer-"

"Don't really have any, besides working," she interrupts.

"Okay, great! That's awesome," he says. "So I'm going to Lisbon for four days and my sister was supposed to come with me, but something important came up at work and she can't go. So-" here he pauses for dramatic effect- "She cancelled her plane ticket and sent me the money 'cause it was my birthday present to her, but since there's reservations for two and I've been saving for a while I didn't want to waste that. I can take someone with me."

El's not sure she knows where he's going with this. Is he really-?

"And I wanted you to come. If you want to?" He asks this in such a hopeful tone, El can't help but want to.

"But- what about Max? Or the others?"

"Max is going home with Lucas for the summer to meet his parents and I haven't asked the others, but I really wanted you to come, El," Mike says softly. "It's fine if you don't want to, I understand."

"No!" She laughs nervously, rushing to fix her mistake. "I'd love to come, I'm sure I can get one week off. I'm just- you really want me to come with you?"

"I really want you to come with me everywhere in general," he jokingly responds. "I think it'll be great. And I mean, they might not have the best waffles, but I hear their food is to die for?"

The week after is a flurry of bookings (a train and plane ticket for El, and booking off work). The two of them will leave Ann Arbor for Chicago on June fourth at seven-twenty AM for their twelve fifty-five flight to Washington D.C., where they'll have a six-and-a-half hour layover before getting on their way overnight to Lisbon. If everything goes to plan, they should be in another country by ten thirty-five AM local time.

El's the most excited she's ever been. Getting to explore a foreign country? Sign her up! She's never left the States before. The only thing she's worried about is not speaking the language, but Mike assures her that they'll be bound to find someone who speaks English. After all, it's not like they'll be in the middle of nowhere; they'll be in a city of millions. And, he adds, tourism is one of Portugal's biggest money-makers, so there's gotta be translators somewhere.

It also gets Max off El's back about telling Mike about her steadily growing feelings. She hasn't attempted anything since the night at the club, letting her slight anxieties get the best of her. He'd seemed into what was happening, and according to Max he likes El a lot, but there is also his weird escape to the restroom and that's what El's brain holds onto. She's afraid that he'll run in the other direction if she so much as tries to hint that she holds anything besides friendly feelings for him, even though she's smart enough to pick up on his blatant affection for her. Max makes El promise that she'll do something about it on their trip.

The group finishes off their school year in relatively high spirits, and Max leaves almost immediately with Lucas. They're going to road trip and sightsee for a few weeks before heading to Lucas' home in Delaware. El, Will, and Mike all have jobs to busy themselves with, but Will is going home to Maine to visit his mom and then New York to visit his brother at the end of the month. Dustin is preparing to take on an internship at a bioengineering company that will hopefully help land him a job when he's finished with his education. When they've got free time they all like to hang out at someone's place and enjoy it, but since Mike and El live merely floors apart they hang out most often. In fact, Mike has taken to falling asleep on El's couch at least once a week, coming up for dinner when he doesn't invite her down instead (he claims he misses Max and doesn't like eating alone).

Eventually, Will has gone off to Maine and the morning of El's first international venture dawns bright and clear. Her bags have been packed for a few days now, all she needs to do is one last clean sweep of her apartment before going downstairs to make sure her travel partner isn't still sleeping. When she knocks, the door swings open and a very dishevelled Mike is standing on the other side. She laughs at the mess of hair on his head, just as she does every other morning she sees him like this, and thinks that it really isn't going to take much longer for her to truly be in love.

"It is six in the fucking morning," he says, pulling her through the door, "and I have just ingested approximately three gallons of caffeine. This is ungodly."

"I'm fairly sure three gallons of straight-up caffeine would make you overdose or something," she responds, leaning against the kitchen table and watching him putter around straightening blankets before streaking down the hall to his room.

"I haven't gotten up this early in years!"

On the train to Chicago (which they have to take because Mike's sister Nancy lives there so it's where the flight is scheduled from), they look out the windows for a bit but mostly sleep. An alarm is set so that they don't end up sleeping through the stop. They make it to O'Hare just in time for check-in and boarding, and then they're on their way to D.C. Once there, they head into the city to have lunch and take a tour of Capitol Hill before switching airports for the red-eye to Lisbon. El is fascinated to see all the buildings where the nation's greatest decisions take place, to stand where thousands have stood during events that made history. Mike's just sort of tagging along, having been to D.C. before, but she thinks he's enjoying himself nonetheless.

The flight is uneventful other than some light turbulence when they're about an hour out from landing, and the fact that Mike falls asleep on her. El's freaking out internally when he lays his head on her shoulder, but continues to watch the movie in front of her as if nothing's happening. It makes her feel warm inside.

As the plane approaches land, El can see the blue, sparkling ocean spread out beneath her and little orange roofs dotting the landscape ahead. "Hey, why are the roofs orange?" She asks, shrugging her shoulder a little bit to get Mike's attention.

He looks out the window, squinting as if that's going to make them hear each other better (their ears have yet to pop). "They're made of tiles instead of shingles, that's just their colour."

"That's cool."

A few moments of silence later, Mike lifts his head off her shoulder and says, "So, you excited?"

"Yeah!" El exclaims. "What are we doing first?"

Mike laughs. "I think we're sleeping, you're gonna want to crash the second you get off this plane."

He's right, of course, if only partially; she doesn't want to sleep the second she gets off, she wants to sleep as soon as the stress of border control and baggage claim are over. She does sleep a bit on the way from the airport to where they're staying, only waking up long enough to get inside and collapse in the first bedroom she comes across.

When El wakes up it's dark out the window, and she sees that it's past midnight when her phone buzzes on the bedside table. She wonders for a moment how she's getting messages if she didn't connect her phone to wifi, but realizes that Mike must have done it. He's her best friend at this point, so he does know her passcode. It's the group chat, so she scrolls to the top to see what they were talking about.

Frogge 🐸[12:34 PM]: hey guys I know it's barely morning for you but just wanted to say we're here

Maxie [1:47 PM]: good flight?

Dustin [2:16 PM]: they're probably both sleeping off the jet lag

Will [3:58 PM]: yeah mike'll probably wake up first, he sleeps on flights doesn't he

Maxie [4:00 PM]: probably

Maxie [4:00 PM]: miCHAEL WAKE THE FUCK UP

Maxie [4:01 PM]: ELEANOR WHERE U AT

Lucas [4:02 PM]: that's a lot of probablys

Dustin [4:07 PM]: they'll be back dw about it

Will [4:10 PM]: yeah don't wake them

Maxie [4:32 PM]: u right if u wake mike too early he'll kill u

Maxie [4:33 PM]: idk about el but since they're a match made in heaven she's probs the same

Will [4:35 PM]: so I'm not the only one seeing it then

Dustin [4:36 PM]: will do u think the rest of us r blind

Maxie [4:36 PM]: ok gotta go me and Lucas are leaving now

Will [4:37 PM]: have fun

Dustin [4:37 PM]: don't die

Frogge 🐸[11:46 PM]: can you guys not

Frogge 🐸[11:47 PM]: yes the flight was good, I fell asleep but el told me it was fine

Frogge 🐸[11:47 PM]: just a little turbulence like an hour before we landed

Will [11:53 PM]: you guys slept literally the entire day?

Frogge 🐸[11:55 PM]: No I woke up in the middle of the afternoon to go pee and then I went to some random store to buy food but I didn't check my phone

Frogge 🐸 [11:56 PM]: idk if el has woken up today but she didn't sleep at all on the plane so probably not

Max [12:01 AM]: why'd u go buy food aren't u in a hotel

Frogge 🐸[12:02 AM]: no we're in this place it's like an apartment and you pay for it like a hotel but it's cheaper Lisbon has a lot of these

Frogge 🐸[12:02 AM]: also if we go grocery shopping it's cheaper than eating out 3 times a day for a week

Lucas [12:03 AM]: so where is she

Frogge 🐸[12:03 AM]: sleeping

Frogge 🐸[12:03 AM]: yeah I think she's still asleep

[12:04 AM]: incorrect I have returned to the world of the conscious

Frogge 🐸[12:04 AM]: great come eat! I saved you some food

Will [12:04 AM]: El: wakes up

Will [12:04 AM]: Mike: 😍

Frogge 🐸[12:05 AM]: shut up will bye

[12:05 AM]: lol I'm coming

El makes her way to the bathroom to freshen up a little before going down the hall, where she finds Mike standing by the open window in the living room area cradling a cup of what appears to be milk.

"Hey," she says, poking him in the back.

He turns around with a smile and hands a second mug to her, also full of milk. "Milk fills you up but also makes you sleepy," he answers.

"Thanks for the fact," El quips in return, taking the cup. She leans out the window to look at the city around them and sips. "Is that a river?"

"Yup. The Tagus."

"Weird name."

Mike laughs quietly and throws his free arm over her shoulder, dark eyes sparkling. "Things usually sound a little better in their native language, but I don't know how to pronounce it properly."

El hums in response. "It looks like a beautiful city, though, I can't wait to explore."

"Then we should probably get some more sleep to wake up early, huh? There's toast on the counter for you if you want it," he says, chugging what's left of his milk before depositing his cup in the sink and going back into the room he's claimed as his.

It's silent for a few moments but for the slight rustle of bedsheets as El drinks the remnants of her milk and Mike settles in. Then: "Night, El!"

She rolls her eyes, but her heart warms and a smile blooms on her face. "Night, Mike."

El wakes up again around nine hours later, feeling fully refreshed but confused. She was awoken by a loud crash, and blinks her eyes open to see her friend lying on the floor in her doorway. "What are you doing?" She yawns.

"Can I just die here?" Mike says. "I fell coming to wake you up."

El can't help but laugh at the mental image that conjures, but it gets so funny that she has to bury her face in her pillow to muffle the giggles.

"It's not that funny, El!"

She feels the mattress sink next to her and immediately flips over to push Mike away when he starts to tickle her. "S-stop!" She shrieks. "I can't breathe!"

"Never!" He tickles her with renewed fervour until she manages to kick him away, at which point he flops down onto the mattress and smiles at her. The sun is coming in through the window and it backlights his hair in a way that makes him look like there's a halo on his head, which El thinks is appropriate because he is the closest a human can get to an angel. She smiles back.

"So what's on the agenda for today?"

That first day is spent lounging by the river for a while and taking pictures, followed by walking around the downtown streets. Some of them are wide and full of shops and people, and others are narrow, steep hills that look like they'd be impossible to navigate by car. What do pass are these little things that look like three-wheeled mopeds with bench seats and a roof, and they roar up and down the busy streets at what looks like should be an impossible speed for the incline of the roads. Mike tells her they're a tourist thing, so who knows, they might end up in one too.

The night ends with dinner in a nearby restaurant, which serves not quite the best food El's ever had (after all, homemade always has that touch of… something that makes it special) but it is a good dining experience. Mike was right, all of the people they've interacted with have been able to speak English or direct them to someone who does, so they're able to enjoy the meal without having to worry about misunderstandings. In all, El's first day out of the United States is a dashing success.

The second day begins with a shower straight out of bed, after which El realizes that she's the only one awake, so she dresses and makes herself breakfast. She's sitting at the table reading a tourist magazine and sipping coffee when her travel companion stumbles into the kitchen, bleary-eyed and with quite the bedhead.

She grins. "Top of the morning to you, Mr. Rat's Nest," she greets him.

Mike blinks at her. "What?"

El feels like her smile is going to break her face. She could get used to seeing him like this every morning. He looks more like a boy than the young man he is, and less stressed too. What a sight. She could just combust from looking at him and she'd be happy about it.

"Your hair," she answers, gesturing to his head, where his hand follows and settles in the nest as if to confirm that his hair is indeed as much of a mess as she's making it out to be.

Mike glares half-heartedly. "I'll thank you to leave me and my hair alone. I haven't fixed it."

"Whatever you say," she replies, smirking back into her mug.

He putters around the kitchen for a few moments before suddenly whipping around. "Is that black?"

El raises her brows. "Straight," she says, slurping obnoxiously.

"I can't believe my- you drink black coffee?" Mike interrupts himself before he finishes his sentence, but it's already kind of too late.

"Your what?"

He looks away. "Nothing." He turns back to the fridge, taking milk out of it and pouring it into a mug. El's still watching when he shakes his head and mutters, "Black coffee."

"I'll thank you to leave me and my black coffee alone," she retorts, but she's smiling again. It's almost impossible how happy this man makes her.

A few minutes later, when Mike is sitting across from her with his toast and drink (it's honestly more milk than coffee but since it is a mix, she guesses it could be considered a latte), El speaks again. "My dad used to drink his coffee black."

"He used to?"

"Yeah, I-" She falters.

Mike reaches out for her hand and cups his around hers on the mug. "You don't have to talk about it."

"No, I-" She shakes her head quickly. She will tell him. "My mom was a drug addict and she died when I was born."

Mike's grip on her hand tightens and El's grateful for it. He's always been a reassuring presence. "I'm so sorry."

"It's- fine, really, I- anyway." She clears her throat. "My mom died giving birth to me and no one knew who my dad was. But I was adopted as a baby, by a man who had lost his daughter a few years before. He's the one I grew up with. His name was Jim. Jim Hopper."

El's feeling the tears build up and she's thinking that maybe she should stop talking, but she also thinks that this is something Mike should know about her before anything else happens. "He was a cop. But he was such a loving person. He took care of me, he gave me room to grow, he played with me, he taught me, he loved me." At that she lets the tears flow. Where did the joy of five minutes ago disappear to? It never hurts any less when she thinks about him, it just gets easier to deal with. She can still see his smiling face and hear his laugh, and it pulls a hiccupy sob out of her.

"What happened to him?" Mike asks softly.

"One night, when I was thirteen, he was called out on emergency," she says, looking at their joined hands on the mug in front of her. "And he never came back. He was killed on the job."

Mike doesn't say anything, but she meets his eyes and sees something in them that warms her. It's this moment, the most vulnerable she's ever been in front of him, that makes her realize: she's not falling, she's already fallen.

El looks away. "After that, well. I got put in the system. But nobody wants to adopt a teenager, so I just got bumped around from foster home to foster home until I was eighteen. Then I was left to fend for myself," she laughs. "Good thing I turned eighteen in the summer, otherwise I probably would've had to drop out of high school and work."

"So you're older than me?" Mike asks.

El rolls her eyes and sniffs. "I just spilled my entire life story to you and that's what you ask?"

Mike smiles, and it squeezes her heart in a good way. "Well, it's not like you're a criminal or something. It could be worse if you did illegal shit. But I'm sorry that happened to you."

El looks back into her cup of coffee, the catalyst of this entire conversation. "Well, yeah. He never would've allowed me to drink coffee a way other than black, so that's how I take it. It reminds me of him."

When they're on their way out the door to another day of adventure, Mike stops her and pulls her into a tight hug. He looks directly into her eyes when he pulls away. "If you ever need something, I'm always here for you."

She nods. "Thank you."

Everything is going well until they make a turn down some side street that was supposed to be a shortcut and end up getting lost.

"Mike," El pleads for the fifth time, "Let's just ask someone for help?"

"No," he answers, "I've got this. Just a second." He's still looking at the map they were using to try and get to the castle. The two of them were on their way to Castelo de São Jorge, the castle on top of a hill from which you could get "wicked views of the city and river", but unfortunately they'd gotten turned around in the maze of windy cobblestone alleys and had no idea where they were. Neither of them had gotten a roaming plan either, so using a GPS is out of the question unless they want to pay a hefty sum at the end of the month.

El huffs impatiently. "You've been saying that for the last ten minutes!" She throws her arms up in exasperation and walks back down to the nearest corner, leaving Mike squinting at the map uselessly in the hopes that she'll find someone to help.

She stands on the corner and waits for someone to walk by, finding a target within a few minutes. It's a woman who looks like she might be around El's age or older, with wavy, long brown hair and striking green eyes that El notices from feet away. She's carrying some shopping bags and walking down the street with a wide smile on her face. She looks approachable, but El's having a hard time screwing up the courage to talk to her.

Luckily, the woman seems to notice El's slight distress and stops in front of her.

"Español?" She asks.

El shakes her head. "English?"

The woman smiles again. "Are you lost?"

El's relief is great. The woman speaks perfect English, so El doesn't have to stand there and make a fool of herself trying to be understood.

"Oh thank god," she breathes. "Yes. My friend and I are trying to get to the castle but we got lost and he's still looking at the map."

"Men," the woman says, shaking her head ruefully. "I can take you there, if you want. My name's Sabrina."

El smiles shyly. "I'm El."

"Alright, El," says Sabrina, hefting her bags. "I'm going to leave these at home real quick and I'll meet you here in a few minutes, it's just down the street."

She starts walking in the direction she was originally going and vanishes around a corner. El's a little worried that it was a mean joke and Sabrina's not going to come back at all, but she turns around and calls Mike anyway.

"Hey!" She yells, cupping her hands around her mouth. Mike's head jerks up from the map he is still looking at. "I found someone to help us!"

He starts jogging down the street and joins her on the corner in a few moments.

"Where are they?" He asks, furrowing his brows.

"She had some shopping bags so she went to leave them at home, but she said she'd meet us here soon."

"Okay, cool. She speak English?"

El nods. "Perfectly. Sounds just like us."

A few minutes later, El sees Sabrina coming back in their direction. "There she is!"

Mike squints. "You sure she's not going to kidnap us?"

El elbows him. "Be grateful. We're lost because of you, smart one."

Mike rolls his eyes but doesn't say anything else as Sabrina walks up to them.

"Hey!" She greets. "I'm assuming you're El's friend? I'm Sabrina."

"Mike," Mike answers, shaking the hand Sabrina extends. "Heard you could help us get to the castle?"

"Glad to help!" Sabrina leads them down to the end of the street they had been on, makes a left, and keeps walking.

"So," says Mike curiously, "not to be offensive or anything, but how come you speak English so well? We haven't met anyone here who speaks like you do."

Sabrina waves a hand and makes a right. "It's not offensive, don't worry about it. I was actually born and grew up in Canada, but my parents moved back when I was eighteen so I moved too. I decided to live down here instead of up north with them."

El nods along, trying to pay attention to where they're turning so that they can find their way back later.

"It's a very pretty city, from what we've seen," she says.

Sabrina smiles. "There's just something here, right? Porto is very nice too but I love Lisbon."

A few minutes of mindless chatter later, after they've made another right and then two lefts and one more right, Sabrina pauses and asks, "So you guys are Americans, right?"

El laughs. "Are we really that obvious?"

Sabrina shakes her head. "I knew it! There's something about you. Also, I tend to meet more American tourists than Canadians."

"We're from Michigan," adds Mike. "I was supposed to be here with my sister, actually, but she cancelled last minute and El agreed to come instead, lucky for me."

"You don't have to sound so unhappy about it, you ass," El says, poking him in the side.

"Maybe I don't really like you, ever think of that?" He answers, then sticks his tongue out her. It's such a childish action that El doesn't even know how to react, so she just shakes her head and walks faster.

Sabrina looks like she's about to laugh at them, but instead she opts for asking, "Are you sure you guys are friends?"

El can sense the underlying secondary question that she knows the other woman is not going to ask, and she wonders herself what the answer to that is.

Mike, however, either ignores it or doesn't notice at all, as he throws an arm over El's shoulders and pulls her close. "Nah, I love her. El's the best."

Her heart skips several beats at his words, but she ignores it for the time being. She's been dealing with this for months at this point, she's a pro at pretending Mike doesn't make her feel like she's going to float away at any second.

Sabrina just smirks knowingly and stops walking at the bottom of a steep hill a moment later. "Okay," she says, "You can see the walls from here. Just go up this hill and you'll find your way. It was nice meeting you guys, enjoy your trip!"

Both of them say their thank yous and watch as Sabrina walks away and vanishes around a corner back the way she came.

"She was nice," remarks Mike, shielding his eyes against the sun as he looks up.

"Good thing I talked to her, otherwise we'd probably still be lost."

"Oh, come on!"

They're almost at the top of the hill when El falls. She's slightly behind Mike and gets so distracted by the shape of his shoulders that she doesn't see a cobblestone sticking slightly out from the rest. She lands with a loud thump and sees Mike whip around.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asks concernedly, reaching down to help her up.

El grips his hand firmly, the warmth from it bleeding into her and causing her face to flush as she stands. She hopes that if Mike notices, he chalks it up to the outside temperature.

But then he doesn't let go. And El isn't about to either, so…

They end up walking around looking for the ticket booth while holding hands. El's pretty sure it's the sweatiest her hand has ever been, which is gross, but it's so nice to hold Mike's hand that she's not even really thinking about it. They only separate to have an argument about who's paying for the tickets (which El wins by stating that she will not speak to Mike for the rest of the trip if he doesn't let her take care of it) and then gravitate tentatively back together as they enter into the castle grounds.

There are a ton of tourists inside, but Mike and El join a group being led by a guide who explains the history of the castle and surrounding area. It's quite interesting, especially for people like both Mike and El who think of themselves as low-key history buffs (they've watched a lot of documentaries on the History Channel together, sue them).

Afterward, they walk around on their own, taking pictures of the skyline and the river. They take pictures of each other, then get a random group of German tourists to take ones of them together, and it's just a good morning all around.

Back at the apartment for lunch, Mike cooks a delicious pot of farfalle with Alfredo sauce, which he takes a picture of and posts on his Instagram story. A few minutes later, El gets a notification.

m_mayfield sent you mwheels' story.

m_mayfield: HE NEVER COOKS THIS NICE FOR ME

m_mayfield: EL COME GET UR MANS LMAOOO

lhppr: I'm literally with him

lhppr: He is in front of me right now

lhppr: Watching me message u with a very suspicious face

m_mayfield: tell him I said he's stupid

"Max said you're stupid," El says noncommittally.

Mike rolls his eyes as he sets down their plates. "Tell her I love her too."

lhppr: He said he loves u too

m_mayfield: atta boy :)

m_mayfield: so u guys fuck yet

lhppr: Omg Max

lhppr: No why the hell

lhppr: I feel like u would find out from him first anyway jesus

lhppr: We held hands today tho it was so nice! He has nice hands!!!!!!!!!!!!

m_mayfield: ( ͡°👅 ͡°)

lhppr: DO NOT

lhppr: WE ARE ABOUT TO EAT I AM ABORTING THIS CONVERSATION GOODBYE

El slips her phone into her pocket and ignores the buzzes as she digs into her plate of pasta.

"So what did Max want?" Mike asks, stabbing the pasta onto the fork and bringing it to his mouth.

El gets distracted by his lips for a second (wow those are also… really nice…) but shakes herself out of it before he notices. She smiles. "Nothing, she just sent me your story and told me that you never cook this nice for her."

Mike swallows his food, then scoffs. "I have cooked whole roast chickens for her. That liar."

"Whole roast chickens?"

"And potatoes, and rice."

"Sounds nice."

He nods. "It's her favourite food, so whenever she needs a pick-me-up."

And ugh, Mike is just too sweet for his own good. El can all too easily imagine him taking the time to cook something special for his friends to cheer them up, and when she imagines him doing it for her it makes her want to kiss him more than usual.

For the afternoon, Mike and El decide to go on one of those little three-wheeled things and take a tour around the city. The drivers know all the cool spots, after all. Theirs takes them on a two-hour tour, stopping at a bunch of churches to explain their history (the interior of one is made entirely of gold, apparently) as well as lookout points and other important buildings. They're able to get off at some locations to take pictures, which is also really great. El's phone's camera roll is quickly becoming filled.

At the end, the driver leaves them back where they started, but it's too early for dinner, so Mike suggests they go souvenir shopping. Lord knows Max would kill them if they dared to go home without souvenirs for her.

"Hey," says El, scrutinizing the window display in front of them, "Do you think Dustin would want a duck?"

"Dustin would go for a duck."

For Dustin, El and Mike buy a bright green rubber duck. It has #LisbonDuckStore printed on the side. Will's getting a specialty jar of Nutella, which El buys another jar of for herself because waffles. Lucas gets a tiny pair of novelty binoculars, but Max is harder to shop for. For her, they end up buying name keychains that have a little Lisboa charm hanging from the end. There's no Max, so El buys a Maria and Mike gets an Xavier, and then they mix up the letters on one chain to spell her name.

The pair heads back to the apartment for dinner, then go for a walk along the riverside as it's getting dark. El's trying not to think too much about the fact that Mike keeps glancing at her. He looks nervous and she doesn't really want to consider why that might be.

But then… she hears a sharp intake of breath and feels his hand fumble against hers, so she takes the plunge and laces their fingers, heart in her throat. She doesn't look at him for a few seconds, just to gauge what's going on, but when she does she's faced with an adorable sight. He's looking at their hands and smiling, the tips of his ears pink and the same pinkness spreading across the apples of his cheeks.

Neither of them says anything for a few minutes, just walking and enjoying the bubbly feeling between them that El knows she isn't imagining. Mike starts swinging their joined hands lightly before he breaks the silence.

"So, I have something embarrassing to tell you," he starts.

El's intrigued. "What?"

"You were in Doddmann's classics lecture last year," Mike says, now blushing deeply.

"I know."

"So was I."

"I know."

"You know?"

"Max told me."

At this, he blanches. "Um, well… basically, I had a huge crush on you. And I didn't even know you yet, so that's embarrassing."

El already knew this months ago, thanks to Max, and she tells him as much. "I just wasn't expecting to actually hear it from you," she adds.

Mike's avoiding her gaze now, looking at the river beside them instead. "You didn't think it was weird? That I was weird?"

El laughs. "Let me tell you something embarrassing. I thought you and Max were a thing."

"Are you serious? Ew!" Mike exclaims. "I would never. She would never."

"Well, I didn't know any better!" El defends. "It was a good excuse not to talk to you."

Mike quirks an eyebrow curiously. "Why didn't you want to talk to me?"

"You make me nervous."

"…I make you nervous. Me. The human stick man."

El sighs. "Not so much anymore now that we've gotten to know each other, but you used to. I felt like I was about to fly through the ceiling every time you came to order. Know why? I was crushing on you too, hugely and stupidly. I didn't even know you."

Mike's beautiful smile returns. "Guess we're just a couple of idiots, huh?"

El feels like her face might break. "Guess so."

They walk along silently observing others on the sidewalk for a little more before Mike speaks again. "Bet you're wondering why I told you that, right?"

She was, but she wasn't going to say it. "Yeah, I guess."

"Well," says Mike dramatically, "If it wasn't already obvious, I still like you. A lot more now, actually. If this keeps going at the rate it's going then I'm about to fall in love with you."

El doesn't respond for a moment and she swears she can hear him swallow.

"Was that too much?" He asks, and she can hear the nervousness in his voice back in full force. "It's totally cool if you don't feel the same way, I just thought… you know… you should know."

She now has two options: either confess now or do it later in private, but she kind of doesn't want to wait. The sun is almost gone over the horizon, bathing the sky in brilliant reds and oranges, and it's warm and their walk has been so indescribably good that El just-

She has to stand on tiptoe to reach him, but she pulls Mike's head down by the back of his neck and kisses him.

Later, the group chat blows up.

Maxie [9:37 PM]: HWAT THE FUKC IS THIS

Maxie [9:37 PM]: IMG.294

Maxie [9:37 PM]: IS THIS REAL LIFE?

Dustin [9:38 PM]: or is this just fantasy…

Maxie [9:38 PM]: DUSTIN I DO NOT NEED U TO QUOTE QUEEN LYRICS AT ME I NEED AN EXPLANTAIAN

Maxie [9:38 PM]: ELEANOR HOPPER U EXPLAIN UR RECENT RIGHT TEH FKUC NOW

El had posted a picture she'd taken with Mike by the river after their unexpected confessional. He had his arm around her shoulders as he took the photo and she had hidden her face against his chest out of embarrassment, but she ended up liking the picture so much that she posted it to her Instagram captioned simply with a heart. Max had sent a screenshot of it to the group and also left multiple scandalized comments on the post itself.

Maxie [9:39 PM]: MICHAEL EXPLAIN THIS

Maxie [9:39 PM]: I WILL TELL UR MOTHER

The two of them are watching Max's messages come in on El's phone and at this, El starts laughing as Mike whips out his own phone to start typing furiously.

Frogge 🐸[9:40 PM]: DONT TELL MY MOM

Frogge 🐸[9:40 PM]: ID LIKE TO HAVE A GIRLFRIEND IN PEACE FOR A LITTLE BEFORE SHE FINDS OUT

Maxie [9:40 PM]: OH SO SHES UR GIRLFRIEND NOW???????????

Maxie [9:40 PM]: ( ✧≖ ͜ʖ≖)

Will [9:41 PM]: but are you really surprised tho?

Will [9:41 PM]: idk about you guys but I was expecting this

Dustin [9:42 PM]: ✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ *( ͡˘̴  ʖ̫ ͡˘̴ )* ･ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

[9:42 PM]: love how Lucas is just absent

Will [9:42 PM]: he doesn't like chaos

Lucas [9:43 PM]: max was legit screaming my ear off sorry I was too busy recovering to answer

Lucas [9:43 PM]: but I'm happy for you guys

[9:43 PM]: we're happy too ty Lucas :)

After she sends that message, El looks away from her phone to find Mike looking at her with a warmth in his gaze that she's certain now is meant for her, and although their romance has only just begun, El feels deep inside herself that it's going to last a long time.

El looks up as the door opens, and there they are again. Max and Mike pushing each other through the entry and glaring, but now they smile when they see her behind the counter. Max waves and calls hello before making her way to a table, while Mike comes straight up to the register. El cashes him in and then starts making the coffees, all the while grinning because she can see her boyfriend watching her with that sappy smile of his in the reflection on the espresso machine.

"Iced coffee with milk and a chai latte?" She says, turning to hand the two drinks over.

Mike's floppy hair swings a little as he leans forward to give El the flightiest of kisses. "Thank you," he answers, picking up the cups. "We still on for later?"

El's smile doesn't falter. "Definitely."

"Great!" Mike starts to walk away toward Max, but then thinks better of it and retreats back to El for a second longer. He stands at the counter shuffling his feet until El boops his nose.

"What do you want, silly?"

He hesitates before saying, "I love you. I don't know why I'm still nervous, it's not like it's the first time I've said that."

El rolls her eyes. "I love you too. Now go bother Max, I'm working."

Mike gasps dramatically. "Why doth my fair lady rebuke me!"

"Shoo!"

He goes away. El watches the pair for a bit, just like she used to, but she isn't jealous anymore. She's happy.

[abiteofnat]

Don’t knock it till you try it...

Because one day, you might suddenly be old and ill and just really need the comfort of a hot cup of black coffee. 

Even writing that, I suddenly felt all my joints stiffen and a need to yell at neighborhood kids. 

As an ex-barista and lover of ALL overly-sweet coffee beverages (including the occasional summertime Frappucino), I have never been one to crave the same cup of scalding hot acid that customers used to wait in line for 20+ minutes for. I get it- it’s cheap, it gives your eyeballs the ability to see, you can put sugar and milk in it, whatever. But other than enjoying the very intense training and roast taste tests Peet’s loved to encourage employees to take part in, I never found myself walking out of a shift holding anything other than a glorified morning-time cocktail of caffeine. So imagine my surprise when the other week I was in Boston with my family, and that awkward fall weather between chilly, moist and downright pleasant had me questioning if it was time to ween off the iced coffee for something that could warm me like an internal fireplace. ME? Not want ICED COFFEE? Unheard of. I also wasn’t feeling great, and wanted... black coffee?? What?? So I asked my dad, the designated water boy of Starbucks for my family of demanding women, to get me a tall dark roast coffee with cream. Let me tell you, it sparked genuine concern in my mom and I think it’s truly when my life as a grandma began. Between that and needing to ice my legs every few hours due to a medical mystery I’m currently the star of, I had become old and weak, wanting none of that caramel macchiato crap and just wanting coffee. 

Twenty minutes later I sipped the ostracized dark roast with a pinch of cream and chocolate powder, and I'll be damned- it was so, so good. As in, I wanted it the next morning, and the morning after that, and then wanted to try a different roast from a non-Starbucks cafe, and then began a quest to try all the house roasts at little coffee shops around Chicago. It’s become an obsession of sorts and caused me to question, maybe working as a barista made me resent black coffee from working around it too much; from measuring beans and counting out pounds and constantly burning myself on the giant coffee brewer baskets, I can see how it’s possible. We’re an espresso family- it’s in our blood. We are made of Americanos, and I was blind to see any other way to be. But I am changing. 

So now I have a running list of everywhere that makes a decent cup of dark roast and it turns out, when you have a really refined palette from needing to recite flavor profiles off the top of your head to very inquisitive customers and also grew up around coffee since birth, you can tell what’s good and what’s not. Everyone has their own personal preference, but I’m all about the Central American roasts that offer rich chocolate tones, deep flavor, and a smooth finish. Working at Peet’s, the only roast I would suggest was the Guatemala San Sebastian blend because it was the single roast I genuinely loved and because it tastes like chocolate cake. It is fun to build up that flavor profile and know exactly what smell, taste and depth makes you happy to brew up in the morning, and so I suggest you don’t act like a mole person as I did for many years and aim to expand your coffee knowledge. One day you’ll be 80 and that cup of coffee will take you back to all sorts of memories, which is also why I believe the only reason people like coffee is because it reminds them of adults they love drinking coffee and therefore also want to feel like an adult by drinking it. Ask anyone, adults have nooo clue what they’re doing in life either but they look like they do when they’re holding coffee. 

Anyway, the point of this post was not to preach about not being a mole person and instead inform readers where some freakin’ good coffee is! So keep scrolling! 

1. Everybody’s Coffee

This place was somewhere I'd been once before with a close friend, and we spent a very early morning there hiding from the bitter cold after attempting to do a full-on photo shoot with the sunrise by the lake. If you have ever been to Chicago and been by the lake outside of the summer months, you know it’s breathtaking but terrible. So Everybody’s Coffee was our heaven that AM and the entirely wooden interior made it infinitely cozier, as it feels like a secret log cabin located right on Wilson. The Wilson area isn’t exactly desirable, but there are some gems if you find ‘em. Also, there’s a Sonic. 

The other morning I changed up my routine and took the bus to Wilson, got a coffee, enjoyed a particularly peaceful morning sipping joe and waiting for the next bus, and then rolled up to work feeling caffeinated and yet calm. Taking that extra time for myself in the AM, and weirdly enough talking to a barista before a single coworker, made such a difference! 

Everybody’s Coffee is one of the most inviting coffee shops ever, so if you’re looking for an actual hideaway where you can set up your laptop and enjoy a croissant and damn good coffee, check this place out. 

2. Zanzibar’s Cafe

This spot is always full of interesting characters enjoying their cakes, sandwiches, gigantic salads, and shockingly awesome coffee at all times of the day. Located on Bryn Mawr (yes, even more north) this cafe has a mix of all the breakfast/lunch essentials and they are GOOD. Snag a morning bun filled with fresh lemon zest, the Western breakfast sammie, and a pipping hot coffee with a dash of hazelnut syrup to start your Sunday and you’ll be ready to take on anything... like a nap, or the short walk to the next location! 

3. Phlour 

Phlour is a newfound love song I cannot stop singing. Also located in the Narnia that is the Bryn Mawr area, this spacious bakery has like a billion type of croissants and they are all DELISH. I am very picky about croissants because there’s a difference between the waxy, bread-y Starbucks kind and then the buttery, flaky, light but oh-so-rich decadence of a FRONCH CROISSANT. One bite of their chocolate croissant and I was like OUI OUI, MERCI. Then I also ordered a cinnamon roll and after a lick of icing I was like oh HON HON (French laughter). The coffee was ordered large and black, and it was perfect. Since it’s now winter and snow has snowed, I was wrapped in layers and hats and my fur coat and nothing was better than wrapping my hands around that cup o’ morning love. Go to Phlour and find literal paradise in the form of carbs, caffeine, and incredible decor that includes neon lights (my kryptonite). 

4. Cafe Hollander 

Ok... So this one is in Wisconsin... EVEN FARTHER NORTH. I’m so sorry Chicagoans, I'm askew! I’m not trendy! There’s something very satisfying about enjoying a cup of coffee that’s not 2 feet from the streets of the Loop... but watch me live in the Loop next year and change my tune. My girl Sheila and I adventure to Madison every fall and this year we happened to go the first weekend of November, when that cold, sleepy feeling truly takes you over no matter what time of day it is. We enjoyed a football game and lots of Starbucks day one of the trip, and even got cider at Collectivo which was warm and wonderful to sip while looking at the Capitol all lit up. Sunday, however, we needed real coffee and a lot of warm food before heading back to Chicago so we headed to Cafe Hollander a little outside of the downtown area. While the service was overwhelmed by the amount of people there, and the food took eons to come out of the kitchen, I was soooo pleased with my breakfast and drank maybe 3-5 mugs of their coffee. It was the perfect mix of bitter and sweet milk chocolate tones, and then the smooth aftertaste sold me on whatever they kept pouring in my mug. Combined with the cute seating near the giant glass windows and greenhouse-style roof, I was very excited to relax and chat about life for the hours we roosted there.

And then, we got Starbucks for the drive back because the holiday cups really just scream “please hold me while you sing Christmas carols for the entire two and a half hour drive back.” Yeeeep. 

I can’t wait to keep trying new coffees at new places, and I'd love to hear any suggestions for coffee spots I have yet to wander into! Please let me know!

Until next time, Happy Eating!

-Natalie

[thisloveforyourmom]

Sudden Silence, Ch.1

Hey guys! I’ve recently been collaborating with @the-cockbite-syndicate and a bunch of other content creators to make content for a BRAND NEW cow chop au, so here’s my chapter one! If you read/liked Sygyzy, be prepared for another wild ride. Here it is!

Sudden Silence 

Chapter 1: Noise 

There are a lot of things that James Wilson was prepared for. Tattoos, for one thing. Calligraphy. Stray marks. Paint. Sharpie. Even scars, honesty.

But here he is, sixteen years old, watching black ink blossom across his skin for the first time, and he realizes he wasn’t prepared for Japanese.

He thinks it’s Japanese, after googling “asian languages” and clicking ‘images’. The characters seem to line up the way they should, not quite as complex looking as Mandarin and not as spaced out as Korean, but without a Japanese keyboard or the ability to understand pictographic characters he can’t tell what it says. He writes ‘what?’ on his own skin with a ballpoint pen, and the only reply he gets is to see the characters smudge like they were wiped and then wash away.

***

James is twenty-two, and Los Angeles is a bigger city than he ever could have imagined or, really, even wanted. His apartment isn’t bad, but it isn’t exactly good either, and the traffic is terrible in a way that no traffic should ever have to be. Even six months in, he’s still unsure about the decision to move, but he’d assured his mom that LA would have plenty of opportunities and that she shouldn’t worry about him all the way in Pennsylvania, and damned if he was about to come running home across the country just so that she could tell him that she was right. She’d done it enough over the phone, the first month or so when he’d been missing her the most, and then James had remembered that he thrives on spite and he’d made it his goal to succeed.  

He has a job at a “gourmet starbucks”, which is just a starbucks that serves special ice cream lattes and pays an hourly rate with two digits, and it’s not the job he plans to keep but it pays the bills on his apartment with enough left over that he can start an internship sometime soon. The first couple months, he works with Aleks, and as his most frequent coworker he quickly becomes James’ first and only friend.

Aleks then exposes him to Brett, who’s all dry wit and seems to know how to get under Aleks’ skin even better than James does, and they very quickly form a mutual respect once Brett stun guns himself in the leg and James drinks--well, drinks is a strong word--a blend of protein milk and mealworms.  

Then Aleks gets a better job, one that pays him more and doesn’t require him to smell like coffee 24/7, and when he leaves Trevor and Aron take his place. It’s shocking, really, how every new employee at this liquid sugar store seems to fit seamlessly into the group they’re forming, but within a couple weeks Aron moves away and Trevor springs for amateur photography and Jakob and Asher take their place on the morning shift.

And then, two months later, Jakob swaps to the night shift, Asher joins Trevor, and James gets promoted to manager before he finds himself leaning against the counter at 5:30 AM, staring at a Japanese man with a headband and and a nametag that says ‘Sasuke Uchiha’.  

He’s got pin straight black hair, cut choppily as if he’s done it himself, and he stands just a little shorter than James. Giving him the onceover, the first things James notices are the wristbands, and the second is the way he stands, as if he’s ready to move in any direction at any time. He’s skinny, but muscular, and he’s got to be around James’ age but there’s a certain maturity about him that makes him seem much older.

They stare for a while, and part of it is the fact that James got up at five in the morning to open, and part of it is the fact that past a a basic greeting this new guy hasn’t spoken once.

“So how do you say that?” James asks eventually,  and maybe he’s just not a morning person, but ‘Sasuke’ only stares for a moment or so.

“Sa-su-ke,” he eventually says, sounding it out with something that’s almost contempt, and James was going to sigh but he’s caught off guard by the way that this new guy’s voice sounds. Not what he’s putting into it, probably, but...it rings a bell, of some kind, only James can’t tell what. “Welcome to hell,” he says, instead of thinking about that, and he whips a washcloth off the counter and at Sasuke. He catches it, unfazed, and James doesn’t know why Sasuke’s composure annoys him, but it does. “You’re new, you scrub the tables. When that’s done, work the register until the hospital crowd stops coming in, and then I’ll show you how to use the machines. Until then…” James yawns. “Don’t fucking bother me.”

***

Sasuke’s only been working there for a few hours, but James can’t stop stealing glances at him. Sasuke is definitely attractive, but 5’9” with a permanent bored look has never exactly been James’ type, and he can’t figure out why he’s so interested. But he is, and he keeps noticing things that he’d never care about in anyone else. Sasuke moves almost a little too smoothly, like a dancer, and he’s got abnormally fast reflexes. He always keeps his wrists covered.  He hasn’t spilled any coffee on anyone yet, and James gets the feeling that if he did spill it, he wouldn’t care all that much. Everything only adds to the weird air of mystery surrounding him.

God, ‘air of mystery’, he sounds like a fucking author with a crush and that’s not what this is. He’s curious, is all. That’s it. This person is new, and he does things a little weirdly, and James hasn’t seen it before so he’s curious and if he’s going to dissect that it won’t be now.

James tells himself that until he’s distracted by Aleks coming in before work. He ushers Sasuke away from the register, because Aleks is a hassle to deal with on his best days, and if James is there Aleks isn’t going to let him hear the end of ignoring him at the register anyway. Sasuke doesn’t say anything, just nods and goes to make a latte or something--and James was kind of shocked at how quickly he picked up that particular skill, he’d said he hadn’t done it before, but he’d learned pretty fast how to foam milk without getting it everywhere and how not to overtamp the espresso machine--and maybe James was just an idiot but it had definitely taken him a couple days to master the production of caffeine.

“Are you going to take my order, or are you too busy staring at that new guy?” Aleks asks, and James snaps his attention to the bottle blonde standing at the counter.

“I wasn’t--” he starts, but the look on Aleks’ face tells him that he’s either explaining himself, getting relentlessly teased, or both, so he just sighs. “He just looks kinda familiar, is all, stop giving me that look, you fucker.”

Aleks pauses for a moment, and the slow smile on his face is all James needs to see.

“That’s fucked up--”

“Not Aron familiar, you asshole, what the fuck do you want from this stupid hipster fucking Starbucks,” James groans, and Aleks only laughs. He doesn’t order, just offers his card, but that’s okay because if James didn’t know what he wanted by now he’d be a really pathetic friend.  

He writes russian asshole on the cup, and then gets back to actually making coffee while Sasuke takes his spot at the register. It’s a hard battle not to yell cocksucker instead of grande white chocolate mocha, but he manages, and if he gets back to stealing glimpses of the new guy once he’s gone then there’s no one around who cares enough to notice.

***

Sasuke sticks around, and James shouldn’t be surprised because this is his job, but it still seems strange for whatever reason. Like ‘coworker’ isn’t the word he should be using to describe him. Either way, within the week, he’s working more efficiently than Jakob ever did, and probably poisoning less customers, and James can’t deny the efficiency he’s brought. His role in the store is already growing, and with it for some stupid reason, James’ interest in him.

There’s a lot he didn’t notice on the first day. Sasuke takes care with each individual order, as if he thinks they’re important beyond the scope of the job, and at one point James catches him looking around after he messes up a name and James quickly looks away. When he peeks again, there’s a small smirk on Sasuke’s face, and James can’t fight the smile coming to his own.

James’ initial fascination just...doesn’t wear off. It’s stupid, and Aleks notices it every time, and because he has no morals he points it out to Brett, and while he sternly denies their suspicions that it’s a crush, it’s like he sees something new every time he looks over. By Friday, he’s almost disappointed for his days off, and he doesn’t get it. He hadn’t cared half as much about Trevor or Jakob or even Aleks, but something about this guy just...draws him closer. Pulls his eyes away from whatever he’s doing and into some bullshit people-watching session where there’s only one person being watched.

He can’t help it. He wants to, but he can’t. He finds himself noticing the little things, even if they’re the same little things he’s noticed time and time again. How he moves, the way his bangs are cut. The way he asks for someone’s name. But this is not a crush, so he’s resigned himself to finding out as much as he can just by watching his new coworker and hopefully whatever this is--not a crush--will stop.

***

“Taste my wrath, James,” Brett calls, laughing in that little, stupid, infuriating way of his, and James almost throws his controller across the room.

“Fuck off,” he yells as he falls off the level for the fifth fucking time, and the moment the race ends he drops the controller in favor of leaning back with his head in his hands. “I don’t wanna play this game anymore.”

“You’re just a sore fucking loser,” Brett laughs, and fuck Brett because he’s got first in the Prix. “Wasn’t me. That was Trevor.” James still hasn’t moved, but he’s more than happy to move the blame.

“Dude, what?” Trevor asks, but before he can get an answer James stands up and stretches, going to the kitchen and opening the fridge. “Oh, dude, get me a Sprite,” Aleks calls, and he’s second in the prix so fuck him too, actually.  

“No. I’m done with your games.” He comes back with a shitty ten ounce can of Sprite anyway, but immediately regrets it when he sees the look on Aleks’ face.

“If you’re done with the game, we could just talk about your fuckin’ boner for that new guy--” James doesn’t let him get far. “It’s not a boner, you fucker, first of all, and his name is Sasuke.” It’s too immediate, and there’s just a little too much aggression in it, and Aleks only leans back with his eyebrows raised. Trevor, from across the room, does the opposite, and James can feel the attention in the room shift entirely to him god damn it. “I mean, I’m not, uh, well versed in these subjects, but--”  

“Shut the fuck up, Trevor, you can’t listen to this conversation,” James says, throwing a throw pillow at him and then using the other one to cover his face when Brett starts in. “You’ve been talking about him in the groupchat for like, a week, dude,” he says, and James only groans. “Shut up, you baby. It’s a crush.”

“He’s interesting,” James moans, and Brett just laughs.

“I know a lot of interesting people. You didn’t stare at any of them for 8 hours a day.”

“If I had to stare at you for 8 hours a day I’d kill myself.” “So you like staring at him.” God, Brett’s an asshole sometimes. James pulls away the pillow and starts to tell him that, but something on his face must give something away because Brett throws his hands up before he can. “Jesus, okay, calm down,” he laughs, and James just stares for a moment before pulling the pillow back over his face and groaning again.

***

They drop it, and James thinks it’s because they can tell they’re pushing something and he doesn’t like that there’s something there to push. At the same time, his whatever-this-is with Sasuke isn’t going away, and might even be getting worse, and judging by the look Aleks gave him Monday morning, if he doesn’t acknowledge it soon his friends are going to kill him.

Nothing comes to a head until Wednesday morning, where one of them is greeted by a platinum blonde and for the first time in two weeks it isn’t James. “Sasuke!” Someone calls, and both their heads turn at the sound. James quickly looks back to his customer at the register, but his ears are open to the conversation going on beside him. “Why did you come?” Sasuke says, and that one sentence holds more emotion than James has ever heard from him.

“Because you’re my friend, idiot,” the blonde replies, and then there’s a scoff and a laugh. “I’m an adult--” “I wanted to see how you were doing,” the blonde says, and it sounds...more subdued. Serious. There’s a moment where they don’t speak, and it’s filled by the sound of Sasuke turning on the ice machine. Then it goes off, and one of them sighs.

“I’m fine, Naruto.” Sasuke sounds tired, but not...ungrateful, and when James sneaks a look over he can see ‘Naruto’ smiling slightly. “Good.” Apparently that’s all he needed to hear, because he then starts in on a coffee order, and the look of pure exasperation on Sasuke’s face is enough to make James stifle a laugh. “Go to the register and order like a normal person, you loser,” he says, and Naruto makes a thoughtful sound for a moment.

“Fine,” he says, and James can see a flurry of motion out of the corner of his eye. “Naruto--” “This is payment, what kind of a friend won’t even make his friend a coffee, it’s a ransom headband--”

James doesn’t know what’s going on, but it’s getting closer and closer to him, and he turns to look just in time--

For Sasuke to spill hot coffee on him while trying to reach over at whatever Naruto’s got in his hand and time seems to stop.

He should be angry, probably, but really it isn’t hot enough to bu--okay, yeah, it’s hot enough to burn, but for some reason he doesn’t care. The sliver of skin where their arms brushed against each other feel electrified, as if they’re burning with black flames, and James doesn’t know why he chose black ones but it just seems to fit.

Sasuke’s eyes widen, and then meet his, and then for one long, slow moment, the world around them fades away, and all James can really focus on is the fact that Sasuke is pressed against him, burning and electric, and that he doesn’t ever want this moment to end.

And then it ends, and the seconds fade from minutes back to seconds again, and when Sasuke pulls away James is left holding the cloth away from his skin so that his torso doesn’t get burned too badly.

Sasuke just stands there, with his eyes wide and a mostly empty coffee cup in his hands, and for a moment everything is silent. And then Naruto jumps in with an obscene amount of concern for someone that he’s never met. “Are you okay?” He asks, reaching across the counter with some napkins and dropping Sasuke’s headband next to the register. Sasuke doesn’t reach for it, still just standing there, and James is still dazed enough that it takes him a moment to reply. “Wh--oh, no, yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I guess, I’ll just…” He stops. “I’ll just need a new shirt or something, yeah,” and he can tell from the way Sasuke relaxes slightly that he was expected a whole lot more anger. Well, James can’t really blame him, considering how he is normally, but it’s really hard to be angry when...well, when it’s Sasuke.

It’s only hard for James, though. “Sasuke!” Naruto practically yells, and Sasuke jumps some, finally blinking away that deer-in-the-headlights look. “You have to take him to get a new shirt.”

“Woah, wait a minute, it’s really fine--” James tries, but neither of them are listening. They seem to be having a silent conversation, and it looks like Naruto’s winning.

“Fine,” Sasuke finally concedes, and then turns to James. “After work?” He asks, and he’s not meeting James’ eyes, but he’s not sounding as...sullen as James had expected him to. Sasuke looks almost shy, and it’s...really cute. James realizes that he’d been staring for a moment, and shakes it away. “I--yeah, after work, that’s...fine…” He says, and then he has to turn away to help the next customer because the line is getting longer and also if he lingers in that moment any longer he’ll combust and fuck, fuck, fuck it’s definitely a crush.

(“I have a date”, he texts in the groupchat next time he gets a break, and then, “I’m fucked.”

He looks at his arms, and the rest of his body. Bare as they’ve always been.

Fuck.) @naruto-chop

[spooky-raccoon]

Love Struck (Part 1) (Rufo X Reader)

Rufo needs some love fam and I am here to help out the Rufo fandom (even though I haven’t read the books yet but I’m gonna fix that).

I blame the lovely @ihaveaseriousclownproblem for be-stilling these emotions into my soul for another clown monster.  I have no regrets though.

If you are not a fan of the Rufo fic I’ll be posting then go ahead and look at the tags so you’ll know what to block.

         I admit I had been distracted as I made my way down the sidewalk.  I had to review several documents for some clients and was reading a shorter one as I rounded a corner.  My shoulder connected with someone and a few things I was holding went flying.  I heard the grunt of a man when my shoulder hit him as my mind panicked.

         “I am so sorry!”  I quickly knelt down to pick up the things we had both dropped, gathering his things in one hand and mine in the other. “I know I’m stupid for not looking. I really should have.”  His hand had grabbed a few things and he had been grumbling to himself.  My head looked up to him as I spoke, “Again, I’m so-”  

         My words cut off as I looked at his eyes. They were a pale icy blue that were framed by his high cheek bones.  He had long black hair that flowed to his shoulder.  Slowly, he stood back up and so did I.  He towered over me as he was over six feet tall.  My heart was skipping a few beats it seemed.  There was something eerie about him as he glared at me.

         “You were saying?”  He leaned a bit, hooking his thumb into his pocket as he gave me an exasperated look.

         “I’m sorry, sir.”  I could feel the heat on my cheeks from embarrassment and by just looking at him.  “I hope you have a good day, sir.”  I nodded my head in goodbye and quickly turned down the side walk.  I really hoped to see him again, but I doubt he would ever want to see me again.

         Several blocks down was a Starbucks that I usually visited after work to get something to stay awake as I sifted and sorted paperwork. I hadn’t been paying attention to anyone near me or directly behind me as I ordered.  When I could I often would pay for the person behind me by using a re-loadable gift card I kept at the counter that the employees knew about. It was always nice to make someone’s day a little better.  As I grabbed my drank after paying for whoever was behind me I turned.  I would have stopped in my step but that feeling of embarrassment swept over me when we locked eyes briefly.  It was the man from before.  He gave me a sly looking smile as he ordered and when the barista waved his card away, pointing to me as he spoke his smile grew soft.  I usually didn’t mind when people thanked me but before the man could get the chance I rushed out the door.

         I had finally made it home and decided to wait for my day off to deal with the paperwork I had brought home.  Once I was in my fuzzy sleep shorts and a long sleeve shirt I headed to the kitchen to make dinner.  I had thawed out some steaks and a potato soup going in the crock pot. A knock on my door startled me just as I set the pan on the stove.  Walking over to the door I slowly opened it.  There stood the same man from before.

         “You forgot this.”  His hand extended outwards with a few envelopes in his hand.  So that’s how he knew my address. “(Y/N).  Nice name.”  The corner of his mouth twitched into a smile.

         “Thank you.”  I grabbed the envelopes and smiled at him.  “I, uh, never got your name.”  I could feel the same embarrassment feeling coming back to me. How could I have been so rude to this guy?

         “Rufo.  My name is Rufo.”  He leaned against the door frame as an idea clicked in my head.

         “Rufo, I want to apologize again for earlier. Come inside, please.  Have a seat at the table.”  My smile beamed as I moved to the side to let him in.

         “If you say so.”  He shrugged, shutting the door behind him as I walked back into the kitchen.  

         I saw him sit down, his legs sprawled a bit. I began to rub some of my favorite spices into the steaks when I noticed him tearing apart a napkin.  He was so focused on it that he didn’t even notice me as I walked over to the couch nearby and picking up the remote.

         “If there’s anything you’d like to watch feel free to flip through the channels.  It’s on some animal documentaries right now.”  I smiled at him as I set the remote next to him then headed back to the kitchen.

         I poured a little oil into the pan along with some butter, letting it melt together as the pan heated up.  Once the pan was to the right heat I set the steaks into the pan.  While one side seared I would fill a bowl with soup, flip the steaks, and fill the other bowl as a sort of timer.  I was able to fit the soup bowl onto the plate in a presentable way.  I carried our plates to the table and set them down, putting Rufo’s plate in front of him.  He had been so distracted by the animal documentary until now.

         “I wasn’t sure how you liked your steaks done so I did it rare if that’s fine.”  I settled down into my seat after getting our silverware and water for both of us.

         “Fuckin’ perfect.”  He had begun to cut up the steak, eating the pieces and occasionally taking sips of his water.

         It was oddly peaceful as we ate.  It didn’t feel as if we were strangers just hours ago. The sound of soft music along with some animal noises in the background played.  Rufo would sometimes turn around to watch.  

         “So (Y/N),” he turned back to me after setting his fork down and picking up the spoon, so he could eat the soup, “tell me about yourself.”  He propped his elbow on the table and looked at me intently.

         “I,” I paused to think about what I could tell him, and I let out a small huff, “there isn’t anything interesting about me, to be honest.  I work here in town for an insurance company.  I mostly sit at home, watching things like animal documentaries or listening to rock music to get the day going by.”  I shrugged as I looked down at my soup as I stirred it with my spoon.  “I’m sorry if that’s not what you were looking for. What about you?”  I looked back up to him and my spoon clattered to the bowl when I saw his face now.

         His skin had turn pale white like snow.  The flowing black hair of his was now a blue just like the make up now on his face, except the lips.  There was a large red smile painted on his mouth.  Before I could say anything, he came up and around me, placing his large hands on my shoulders and giving them a light squeeze.

         “Now, now don’t freak out.  I’m not going to hurt you.”  His hands squeezed a little harder this time as he brought his head next to mine.  “I may be a dead man walking but I am a gentleman still.  I do admit though if you had been rude like most of the pathetic cretins in this town you probably would be dead the second you ran into me with no words of an apology but no.”  His hands were now softly massaging my shoulders and I realized how tense I was. There had been talk of murders in town, but I had just ignored them.  This was the man doing it?  “You’ve been so sweet and kind far beyond what I expected.”  His hands rubbed up to the base of my neck as his thumbs rubbed the tense muscle.  “I do plan to repay the favor but first I have to leave town for a few weeks. Promise you’ll still be here doll?” One hand left the back of my neck to meet my chin to turn my head to the side where we met eyes.  “I wanna hear you say that you’ll promise Old Rufo that you’re gonna stay.”

         “I-I promise, Rufo.”  My heart was pounding hard in my chest.  I’m not sure if I was afraid, intimidated or to the fact I still found him oddly attractive despite his eerie appearance.  “I promise.”

         “I’m so happy to hear doll.”  His hand slid up to my cheek as he spoke as his grin grew wider. “I’m not a huge fan of people bumping and running.  Doesn’t end well with them.”  He shrugged and picked up our empty dishes, heading to the kitchen.  

         I stood up as he entered the kitchen.  I followed behind him and just before he started washing them.  He turned his head with a confused look on my face.  I guess he thought I would be scared and not wanting to interact with him until he came back.

         “You’re my guest still, even if you are well,” I looked him over then back up to him, “a bit different.”  Lightly I pulled him by his belt loop away from the sink and began washing dishes.  “I’m still a host.  Guests get to relax.”  I turned my head to look at him.

         “I’m going to at least help you dry them.” He grabbed the dishtowel I had hanging from a top cabinet.  I let out a sigh as I handed him a wet plate.

         “I guess that’s fine.  If you like ice cream you can stay for a bowl and we can watch another documentary.”  He set the plate into the dishes cabinet and took another wet dish from my hand.

         “Such hospitality.  I bet I could stay the night too if I needed too.”  He laughed as he wiped the towel on the dish.

         “Actually, yes.  You may look scary and you probably are someone I should be afraid of, but you haven’t personally done anything wrong to me.” Once the plate left his hand I put a bowl in it.  “You can either crash on the couch or in the guest bedroom.  Whichever you prefer.  If you have to leave early, feel free to make breakfast for yourself before you head out.”

         “I,” there was a long pause has he dried the bowl and then dried the next, “I’ll be honest this isn’t what I expected.”

         “And you think this is what I expected?”  I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him as he finished drying the last dish.  “Now go look in the freezer to pick your ice cream and go pick a documentary.”  I gave him a warm smile and once he set the towel back where it was he picked out his ice cream.

         I had a million thoughts going on in my head as I scooped our ice cream into bowls.  He had asked for a lot of whipped cream on top of his, so I made a small mountain on top of his.  There was a deep-sea documentary playing as I entered the living room and sat next to him. His eyes widened at his bowl as he grabbed onto it.  I couldn’t help but to giggle.  The rest of the time we just sat there watching the television.  Oddly, it was still peaceful feeling around us despite him showing what he was to me.  We cleaned the bowls once we were done and we both decided to sleep.  He was comfortable with the couch, so I brought out some blankets and pillows for him to use.  After saying goodnight, I headed off to my own bedroom.  I wasn’t sure what to think, let alone feel, about this Rufo man but I guess I would find out in time.

@float-me-to-the-moon @slushi

[ask-svt-hearteu]

soulmate! Seokmin (pt.2)

anon requested:  Hi! I recently got into Seventeen and woah did I slipped into the diamond life so hard ㅋㅋㅋ I really like your blog and I’m hoping for a part 2 for Seokmin’s Soulmate post. Than you so much in advance!

you thought you had seen it all

thought you could predict it all

working with celebrities everyday and just being all around busy as ever when filming for MBC music

you really thought the world wouldn't be able to surprise you with anymore happiness

lol were you wrong

because there was Seokmin in front of you

your actual sunshine

standing in front of you, holding flowers and a plane ticket

pulling your suitcase

"Seokmin what are you doing here?"

you had been absolutely ecstatic knowing that MBC let you film a special of Seventeen's Diamond Edge World Tour

which meant you got to travel with them at their concerts

and you were leaving tonight to meet them at the next stop

but the best part had been hearing you would be able to spend time with Seokmin

you had both called everyday, him generally from a different country

"I can't wait until you get here and we can go on dates."

"When I get there Seokmin, we can do it all."

and you had felt his anticipation through your shared emotions for weeks

but you never expected him to meet you from the airport

with not only your ticket but a ticket for himself too

"Let's fly together and go together"

he reached for your hand

"You're actually flying with me? You're actually here? I thought you were with the others."

he gave you his light laughter that never failed to make your heart flutter, the smile that always lit up even the darkest of places

"Yep the company let me fly back here to pick you up and fly with you to the next world tour stop." He pulled you into a hug

you hadn't seen him for what had been the longest 1 month, 4 days, and 3 hours of your entire life since you last found out he was your soulmate during the last filming for show champ

yes you kept count

yep you were that girlfriend

hey that's what happens when you find your soulmate, anytime spent apart felt like forever

seriously the time dragged on without him

you never really noticed how much you missed him

before you had seen him often on music shows

now of course you hadn't seen him for a while cause of the tour

but he was always on your mind

and now he was in front of you

holding you in his warm embrace, an actual person, not just a face or voice through a phone

you hugged him tightly, sighing slightly at how comfortable it all felt

"We're going to miss the flight lets go!"

and you both took off towards the security station to check your bags -until you both settled into the plane seats

him giving you the window spot so you could look out

you excitedly looked out the window into the night sky, the lights along the takeoff platform flashing

grabbing onto Seokmin's arm tightly when the plane took off

and him laughing at your reaction and taking your hand in his

drawing little hearts on your palm while you asked about the concerts and about how he's doing

"It's tiring but I had so much fun and I'm so thankful to all our carats!"

or him asking about your life

even though you guys call everyday and talk

all the tiny details flew out of you as you talked about the prep for the Diamond edge special and how you selected the crew specifically

and as you talked about how you had filmed some carats who had seen the diamond edge in Seoul

you hear heavier breathing and feel Seokmin's head fall on your shoulder

his hand still holding yours in his

his breathing slow

"Guess you must be tired." You giggle

and you ruffle his hair a bit as he sleeps on your shoulder

before you fall asleep too

the both of you sleeping on the plane side-by-side

his head gently resting on your shoulder and your head resting gently on top of his

the flight attendant walking past the two of you thinking you're both the cutest couple she's ever seen

the whole filming process and the concerts felt like a dream

the two of you walking in a foreign place trying all the different foods

holding hands wherever you go

looking at all the local shops for little keepsakes to buy

you getting to film parts of Svt's concerts

but mostly you just staring at how incredible they were at performing

but especially Seokmin

and when it was time to go home

you didn't want to leave

didn't want to leave the walking the streets of foreign places

the late night runs to the hotel's vending machine for snacks

and all the giggling at the other Svt members sleeping

but Seokmin was going to go back with you and you would have a whole week together before he'd have to go to the next leg of the tour

and so in that week

you both tried doing it all

literally having all the dates

going for boba tea every afternoon in one of those really cool boba tea places

where they have board games and Jenga to play as well as popcorn chicken, waffles, ice cream, and ramen

stealing sips from each other's drinks

"hey get your own!"

"yours tastes better though!"

"it's the same thing Seokmin!"

holding hands to walk into Starbucks in the morning to buy coffee

taking cute selcas together even though you can't yet post on SNS

"What did the company decide about the soulmates?" You say nonchalantly stirring your tea

"well now that everyone's found theirs, they're going to have to make a press conference for all of us. We have to tell the fans but they'll understand, our carats are the best." His eyes sparkled talking about his fans and you loved it

"Won't your fans rampage, I mean since you're super good looking and you got stuck with me as a soulmate." You laugh

he grabs your hand tightly making you jump a little in surprise

"You're beautiful and amazing ok? Our fans understand, after all they all have soulmates out there too."

he must have felt the insecurity you felt behind your joking comment

but the added empathy and feeling of happiness when he told you that

made the both of you smile

"Plus you're so pretty how could they rampage?"

"Mmkay Seokmin, whatever you say." You laugh

you hadn't met all the members' soulmates then though you knew you were the last in svt

you and Seokmin weren't together as long as the rest of them, but you felt impossibly happy

every piece seemed to click

and you were happy to finally get time to spend with him

walking along the streets to look at all the stuff for sale

you trying on a pair of sunglasses that makes him smile brightly at you in the way you love so much

"I'll need these sunglasses if you keep blinding me with that smile Seokshine."

"Stop omo, y/n."

buying matching sunglasses

until a shop plays boom boom

and you both burst out laughing and he pulls your arm and starts teaching you the choreo. In. The. Middle. Of. The. Freaking. Shop.

pumping his chest at the chorus "boom boom" part

making you bend over with laughter

and the shop owner to come over to the both of you

"You guys are such a cute couple!"

"Thank you." You hide a smile

"Do I know you from somewhere?" She asks Seokmin

and you both laugh

"I get told I look like that Dokyeom guy from Seventeen"

you smack his arm, dying

the shop lady just winks at the two of you and turns away before the both of you break into a fit of giggles

you both wander from shop to shop looking at stuff

"We should get those keychains that I promised last time." You smile at him while linking your arm with his, a skip in your step

"I have a better idea"

he drags you into this tiny jewelry shop on a corner

"What the heck Seokmin?"

he laughs ignoring you and turns to the staff there

"I called earlier about my order?"

"Ah yes sir please wait a moment." They go into the back room

"What order Lee Seokmin?!?!"

"You'll see."

and you watch as the employee brought out a pair of matching rings from a display case in the back

placing it in front of the both of you

as you look closer you see they're couple rings

one is a crescent moon with your initials on it

and the other is a sun with L.S. Engraved on it

Seokmin lightly takes your hand and the sun ring, gently helping you put it on your ring finger

and he puts on the moon one with your initials

"Look they match and everything!"

he smiles at you shyly and you feel the nervousness he's feeling

wondering if you'll like it until it feels like his heart might burst

trying to scan your emotions for your response

until he feels the immense amount of happiness as you look down at the ring and start tearing up at how pretty it is

"Seokmin..."

"Do you like it?"

"Of course!!!!"

"Good because no refunds"

"Omg stop!"

"Hehe I got the hyungs to help me pick it."

"When did you...?"

"yesterday morning when you were filming something."

"It's beautiful thank you."

"not as beautiful as you." He laughed

"Staaaahhhpppp!"

"By the way this isn't an engagement ring no, that ring will be different."

you blush, smacking his arm flustered

"YAH!!! You!!!"

"I'm just joking." He chuckled pulling you in to hug you

"Don't look at anyone else now. Even all the cute idol boys who will call you PD-nim and noona."

"Yah Lee Seokmin, I'm not that old!"

he pulls away to look at you before placing a kiss on your cheek

"You're mine though." He says giving his signature smile

and you both wear the rings out as you walk

holding hands and talking about anything and everything

the sun starting to set in the evening as you walk towards the Han river

"Oh one more surprise!!"

he pulls you over to an area by the Han river

where there's a picnic blanket and food packed

"Seokmin when did you have time for all this???"

"Well I'm leaving soon again for diamond edge and I wanted to make the most of our time."

he pulls you down to sit next to him on the blanket

"there's kimchi, kimbap, anything you want to eat."

"Did you ask Mingyu for this?"

"HEY I DON'T RELY ON MINGYU FOR EVERYTHING."

you giggle and unwrap some of the plastic wrap to eat

and you both eat the food happily while looking up at the gradually darkening sky

"The fireworks show should start soon."

he points out toward a barge and the crowd of people sitting by the river

and you rest both your hands on the blanket and look up at the stars

and he scoots closer to sit next to you wrapping an arm around you

and that moment is when the first brightly colored burst of firework sets off in the sky

and you gasp at how pretty it all is and point up at the sky

leaning yourself against Seokmin's chest

just enjoying the beautiful scene and the fireworks booming and exploding in the sky to the time of your rapid heart beats

and you turn to look up at his face

and you reach gently to kiss his lips when he turns to look down and meet your gaze

your lips meeting right as another round of fireworks goes off

your heart rapidly beating in your chest rivaling the sounds of the fireworks

and both your emotions just being a happy mess that can't be described in words

as you stay there in that blissful moment

lips gently on each other's with the sky lighting up in colors above you

until you pull away blushing snuggling up into his chest again

your emotions you both felt from each other explaining more in that moment than talking ever could

it was perfect

the sky was bright with reds, blues, yellows

fading gently

The Seventeen Soulmate Series

|| Seungcheol / Pt. 2 || Jeonghan / Pt. 2 || Joshua / Pt.2 || Jun / Pt.2 || Hoshi / Pt.2 || Wonwoo || Woozi / Pt.2 || Seokmin / Pt.2 || Mingyu / Pt.2 || Minghao || Seungkwan || Vernon / Pt.2 || Dino ||

MASTERLIST

~ admin jess

[jnfsavellon]

Quarantine Life, Alright.

(Selfie file photo, April 7, 2020)

April 8, 2020 - It's barely two weeks into the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Cebu City since the Mayor's declaration last March 27 but the changes were drastic which I will describe in the later paragraphs.

To name one is the near-zero traffic congestion comprising mostly of private cars, shuttle services for front liners and employees exempted from the "lockdown."

Our neighborhood here in Sitio Colveta II was peaceful. I can drive my car with ease. I'm my mother's chauffeur while I'm on paid leave - Yeah, Big Head's waiting for a reallocation because my clients won't let me work from home - my route is from home to Barangay Bulacao's Health Center and Birthing Center and back home. At times we're having stops at the grocery stores to stock up our inventory; we're not hoarding, just stocking up.

I could remember Mother spoke that such smooth traffic reminded her of the 80s to 90s roads where everyone was just walking around with lesser people and vehicles roaming around the streets. She said that traffic became worse during the 2000s, but yeah that was it.

I even told her that I could hear our parish the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Roque's bells ringing at 8:00 pm. The church is 600 meters away from home.

Safety and health was a top priority at this time. I've got to credit to Station 11's regular roving rounds in the neighborhood. Neighbors have been called out by police due to the former's hard-headedness because they're still going out of their respective houses at this period. The officers usually use their megaphones to call them out, but there was one time that they've had enough. One officer came out of the patrol car to warn them of their stubbornness. I share the same sentiments with the police on this part. The quarantine period is for everyone's well-being, and there are still stubborn people outside.

(File photo, April 7, 2020)

I shared a post of a former photojournalist that captured a photo of a congested Tabada Public Market. No crowd control. Just significant foot traffic that makes you itch to the bone. The good thing on the next day, the LGU and local police set up a post on the entrance/exits to ensure that people are following protocol such as wearing face masks and quarantine pass.

People just have to be aware that this coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic isn't just the seasonal flu where you could just have some home treatment to get rid of it. It's a new strain that eats out your organs most especially the lungs potentially leading to pneumonia. Once you have it, you'll be isolated away from your loved ones. You'll be met with front liners in PPE spacesuits whom you can't distinguish who's who because they are covered from head to foot. These came from the words of veteran journalist Howie Severino, COVID patient #2828 and now a survivor.

PET PEEVES!!

Speaking of pet peeves, I'm just bothered with some situations whenever I'm out in public to run a few errands: citizens, whether supermarket employees or customers are wearing their face masks improperly. They're wearing it covering just the nose. Worse is that some even take it off and hang it under their chin. Clothe masks have the least protection we can have compared to the N95 counterparts. People just need to be reminded of this.

Another thing is the long lines in the groceries and the padala centers and public market. They are essential, but the inconsistent practice of social distancing is just disturbing to see. I remembered one time I was at Shopwise with my mother, and there's this customer behind me who just keeps getting closer and closer while I was trying to distance myself. I couldn't blame myself because this crap has been giving me anxiety since the disease's spread, and I'm not buying this to catch it.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Nevertheless, Mr. Severino's recovery story gives us hope that we shouldn't feel lonely during these tough times. He made sure to keep in touch with loved ones through video chatting. Do you what you gotta do to make yourself safe and productive. This was my point in Episode 08 ("Do What You Gotta Do, Citizens of Earth) of the Jump Shot Podcast.

I'm happy to be with my family at these times. I feel that there's safety here at home. I'm out of that paranoia I felt while I was traveling to work and going back home. Every time I went home, I was irritated and exhausted. During that weekend I broke down while I was on a call with Charrie, realizing that my mental well-being was shaky because of that ordeal.

But still, I figured out that I should stay at home. Then here I am writing. I still have enough funds to sustain our daily needs. I'm maximizing my time staying healthy and spending time on my pastimes.

I'm doing my home workouts together with my brother at least thrice a week. We have this exercise mat, a homemade 10-pound dumbbell, and a 20-pound barbel, and tons of health and wellness videos you can find on YouTube. It may seem nothing compared to going out to a gym or playing basketball, but something is better than nothing.

(Taco Monday!!!! April 6th)

We're continuing with our healthy diets of boiled egg, canned tuna or sardines, sometimes there's tacos and shawarma wraps filled with seasoned ground pork, cucumber, white onions, tomatoes, and a variety of sauces like sriracha, ketchup, mayonnaise, and hot sauce - our mother's best home cook meal (haha).

Also I'm focusing on some of my skills like Photoshop and audio editing. We're producing the most podcast content right now compared to December to February (haha).

Charrie is catching up with Photoshop as well. She's doing some editing as I've been tasking her to do graphics like the shirt and product designing and creating a sample logo for a possible business hopefully we can concretize it soon.

(Our second to the last coffee night out at Starbucks IT Park, March 14th)

It's been two weeks since we saw each other. We're currently in a long-distance mode right now. Yeah LDR, although Liloan is just 25 km away, the border lockdown is inevitable. So we've got to stick to online communication - it's reminding us of the humble beginnings of our relationship haha. But yeah, we've got some catching up to do after this crap.

(After the Holy Mass live streaming, March 21, 2020)

Meanwhile we've organized the parish's social media team, under Fr. Carmelo Diola's guidance, to continue serving. We're live-streaming the daily Holy Masses while increasing our reach as much as possible. We've also had catechetical-recollections. This way we can serve to have the people sustain their spiritual nourishment. It's just fulfilling to serve once again after many years as an altar server. It's good to be back in my old parish nevertheless. Check our Facebook page.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At this time there are still over 43,000 persons under monitoring (PUMs), and it's still early to call off the ECQ. I do hope Governor Gwen Garcia and Mayor Edgar Labella would consider an extension while strengthening the safety and weakening the virus' spread. I just hope there would be enough supplies for each family especially the ones who are relying on their jobs that were stopped due to implementation of the Executive Orders except for the front liners and other exempted industries.

There are complaints that there are local government units (LGUs) having delayed deliveries the relief goods from house to house especially in our barangay. Mother has had phone call duties as well, answering complaints of other citizens. The barangays lack manpower I've learned. I'm not sure what the real reason for the delays. On one side I believe that the LGUs are doing their best to deliver it - in Barangay Mambaling, there are 8,000 households. On the other people are starving as they are relying on jobs that were forced to stop as what I've mentioned.

I hope they would sort that out while we are quarantining. After all at the end of the day we just want to have peace and order. We just need some patience I guess.

Going back let me sum up my thoughts: (1) Health is a top priority; (2) SOCIAL DISTANCING please, (3) Let's pray for this pandemic to end, (4) Be a better citizen, stay disciplined, (4) Catch up with loved ones, (5) Keep busy, make your day productive.

I guess that's it for now.

Stay safe.

- James

[high5nerd]

Alone Together---Chap. Twelve

I really hope my writing improved at this point. 

Also do you like the aesthetic gifs better than the fandom ones? Lemme know!

Apparently Alice must've had a talking to with Sadie about breaking promises because the following morning Sadie came up to me with those big, sad blue eyes and gave me a hug. I knew she's a hugger, but it was hard to get one when my legs were propped up on the table and my arms folded.

"Sorry for telling North, Pitch," she mumbled from my shoulder, "I was just excited...and I didn't realize that I was breaking a rule. I didn't mean to hurt you, and I'm sorry."

I looked up at Alice, who gave a small, encouraging smile and a nod of her head. She knew I wasn't touchy like Sadie was, who clearly wanted a hug back and comforting words that she was forgiven. I finally wrapped an arm around her shoulder and brushed back some hair from Sadie's face so she could look at me.

"I accept your apology. Just know that...you know, what's going on is kind of forbidden." I said seriously.

"Why? Is North jealous?" she asked, and I assume she meant it genuinely but I couldn't help but laugh at that. Even Alice had to cover her mouth to stifle her laughter so her sister wouldn't be offended.

"No, it's definitely not that," I said finally, "It's just that spirits aren't allowed to...you know, develop close bonds with humans. Friendwise, it's alright, but anything more is a big no-no."

"Why?" Sadie asked, looking down at her hands.

God, she's like a five year old. I have to give her credit for being curious, though. It shows interest as well as genuine wonder, which was valuable in children…

Don't tell North I said that.

Honestly I couldn't really explain the whole tale of Cupid and his many loves that birthed superhuman children that were later titled witches and wizards, because then she'll wonder how that happened, and believe me, I do not want to tell her how babies are made. That's Alice's job as the sister and guardian. And knowing me, I wouldn't even be able to finish a sentence properly that starts with "When a man and woman". Words like 'love' and such are hard for me to say...mostly because it's been ages since I've freely expressed it...hope Alice doesn't mind that.

"It's just one of those rules I have to follow." I finally said, bumping her nose.

She raised a brow, "But you're not. You're breaking it, aren't you?"

I'm a badass Boogeyman, that's why. Stop questioning my ultimate genius.

Damn, I wish I could've said that. That would've made Alice laugh.

"Yeah, and it's because I find that rule stupid. Don't you?"

"Totally."

I smirked and ruffled her head, making her giggle. "You're pretty smart for a kid."

"Hey!" she pouted.

That made Alice laugh again, and she had to turn around so Sadie wouldn't think Alice was making fun of her. When Sadie returned to the fold-out table with her breakfast near the couch to finish her cartoon show, I got up to check if Alice was okay. I rested my hand on her back, holding back a grin.

"You alright?" I asked, noticing her pink face.

"Pfft! Y-yeah!" she choked out, "I'm sorry, you two just are so damn funny."

"Well, I tend to please." I brushed my hand against my chest before admiring my nails, and that caused her to snort. I looked at her, and started roaring out loud with laughter seeing her widened eyes at the noise she made. She covered her mouth and nose in shock at the snort she made while laughing, making her look even more adorable than usual.

I enveloped her in a hug and rested my chin on the top of her head, hearing her giggle happily.

"You're weird, Alice." I laughed softly, looking down at her.

"Look who's talking." she grinned back.

Bad timing. Usually I'm very good with timing, but I damn well wanted that kiss again. But I happened to kiss her right when Sadie looked behind to see why I was laughing. And the next sound I heard while kissing Alice was high pitched, absolute screaming of joy. It scared me so badly I jumped, and even Alice had to hold back a scream of terror from the sudden noise.

Surprisingly, it was Sadie.

"You guys are kissing! You're dating now!" Sadie cheered, jumping around on the couch.

Immediately Alice locked into sister mode, which of course made me grin like a fool. "Sadie Angela Xaviers, don't jump around on the couch! You'll knock over something!"

Sure enough, she did. Her foot high kicked into the air while jumping in glee and it knocked over the fold-out table her toast and eggs were on, and the plastic plate skittered across the floor with the eggs spilling everywhere, also making the toast splat against the side of the couch.

She still was excited as a jitterbug when she got ready for school and boarded her bus, happy as can be with a huge smile on her face and her blue eyes sparkling. Alice had that same sparkle when she was happy as well. Good to know that runs in the family. Maybe our childr-Nope. Not finishing that thought. That's a huge landmine not to cross. We are not discussing that topic. No thank you.

But after that, the happy moment kind of ended Around noontime, Alice later checked her mail that was sitting in her mailbox for a while now and saw that a letter from the bookstore she worked at was placed in there, despite spelling her name incorrectly by missing a vowel. Immediately her smile fell and her eyes darkened with concern, and that made me realize the situation.

When we were frantically looking for Sadie, she caused a disturbance at the bookstore and clocked out way before her shift ended. And I...well, kinda incapacitated her boss, so to speak. So something told me that this wasn't those weekly paychecks that every employee looked forward to.

She tore open the envelope and with shaking hands, opened the letter. Her eyes were dashing over every single word, and her expression grew sadder and sadder as she mumbled out the letter under her breath.

"Dear Alice Xaviers. Your employment at Book Den East has been officially terminated due to lack of attendance and disturbance of the facility-"

Immediately she crumpled to the ground, her head in her hands and crumpling the paper in her fist. I bent down next to her and rubbed her back, hearing her tiny sobs at the harshness in the letter.

"I'm sorry...it's my fault." I whispered, cradling her into a hug.

Her hands grappled at the fabric on my back in a desperate hug, her tears melding into my skin. "It isn't your fault, you did the right thing coming to get me. It's mine for not being careful...Oh God, what will I do now? This is the third job I've lost. I'm just not good enough for anything! I can't use my major or even my minor from college for anything around here. We're gonna lose the house and Sadie will have to stop school and-!"

"Hey, hush. Hush, now," I pulled a bit back from her to look her into her eyes, rubbing away a few tears, "That's not going to happen, Alice. You have the insurance for another hundred eighty days, and your last paycheck that could keep the house for a few more months."

"But knowing that I'm jobless isn't going to make me see that as a good thing, Pitch. I need a job in order to feel like I'm contributing to this family. I have to. I'm not going to let my grandmother pay for all our stuff even if she said she wanted to."

"I love how you think of others," I smiled, but then became serious when I saw she wasn't ready to discuss that just yet, "Do you have any idea what you could do? What jobs have you had?"

Alice thought for a minute, "Besides this? I was a cashier at Starbucks and then I worked at a daycare. I wanted to go into journalism but the paper company wasn't hiring. They turned me away because I haven't been involved with the community."

"Haven't you now? You've done three jobs and you support yourself and your sister. That's something that they should consider." I tried giving her hope on that idea, but she shook it off quickly and with a heavy heart.

"The newspaper only does website and paper prints now, what good will I be? I don't have experience in working in an office or even talking to a group of people. I get so shy and anxious around those large groups I'll just end up failing again."

"Keep thinking like that and you will," I said sternly, "I know that even if you're a shy person, you've got a big heart and you're dedicated to your work as well as the people around you. You've got a great attention to detail and you're careful, as well as the most patient person I've probably ever met."

Alice blinked, blushing a bit in an adorable shade of pink at my choice of words that honestly poured from my mouth. Even I was surprised by that burst of passionate faith in her...I was so used to keeping those thoughts inside, it felt weird saying them out loud.

"I should at least try….right?" it came out more as an unsure question than an attempt at confidence.

"There you go." I grinned, causing her to give a meek smile back. I touched her cheek, soft like the petals of a rose. She laughed softly, touching my fingers back.

So that was that, Alice knew what she had to do. The whole time Sadie was in school, Alice filled out an application and left to go for the job interview. Within those few hours, I thought I should at least reward her for her bravery to venture back out there, unscathed. She was the strongest person I've ever met, and fully deserved it.

I was getting soft, you could clearly see that. This one single person was making me feel more human than ever, a gift not every spirit gets to enjoy once more. They never got the chance to embrace someone they loved, laugh along with them and kiss them with full fervor.

Think about it. In all fairy tales and legends, the villain gets nothing in the end. Not even a second chance.

I'm breaking that rule. I'm breaking so many at once that I feel empowered just thinking about it.

I felt so high off of those thoughts, so encouraged I could almost feel music ebb and flow through me. My face hurt from all this nonsensical smiling. The ultimate feeling of victory was nothing compared to the emotion of knowing that you were loved, or that someone out there cared so much for you. I've finally known what that feels like, and I'm damn well happy about it. I know I don't sound like myself, but that was what I was feeling.

What was I supposed to do with this energy built up inside me? Just let it bubble up inside until I burst? I've never felt this elated before. I didn't know what to do with it.

So I danced.

I danced to music in my head that became real to my ears. My feet carried me to the rhythm, my arms swinging out to feel the passing air between my fingers as I closed my eyes and just let it all out. The only thought I had at that moment was that I was sure glad the Guardians couldn't see me now, for they would think I was an absolute lunatic. Even I thought I looked ridiculous when I jumped by a mirror near the front door. That stupid smile in my face was plastered on as if someone glued it there, and my eyes crinkled in glee, a physical expression I've never seen before on myself.

Before I knew it, Sadie beat Alice home, and by that time I haven't even finished getting all that dancing out. Thank God she didn't see me dancing on the table. I jumped back down before she turned around and saw me.

I felt like a boy again.

"Welcome home, girl." I said, trying to make sure she wouldn't hear me panting.

"Hiya, Pitch," she smiled up at me before taking her knitted hat off, "What did you do while I was gone?"

I opened my mouth, unable to come up with an excuse other than the honest truth that I was being really out of character. She looked over at the old radio near the television, noticing it was on and playing one of Alice's CDs. She grinned and looked back at me, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Were you dancing by yourself?" she giggled. I knew she thought the idea was strange.

I folded my arms and stared at her hard, daring her to laugh more. "What if I was?"

"Can I dance with you?" she grinned bouncing up and down, "We're learning how to dance in gym class and one of my homework assignments is to learn a type of dance and teach it to the class!"

I raised a brow, surprised at that. They sure were teaching kids weird things these days. Dance lessons were so far fetched in the schooling system, or so I thought. I thought school would just teach basic things like writing, science, mathematics and language. But I guess there's more to it than I thought. I wouldn't know, the school I went to was just a military school among the stars, and the only things I learned besides honing my battle skills was astronomy, chemistry, mathematics, and linguistics.

I slowly nodded, unsure if she would take this seriously. "I suppose so. What did you have in mind?"

"Something fast! Something really fun from a while ago!" Sadie jumped up and down, bouncing towards the large space in the center of the living room.

"Alright, you ever heard of the Charleston?" I asked, folding my arms.

She raised a brow, "Is that a type of hamburger meal?"

That's a no. A big fat no.

I snorted, finding it oddly amusing, "No, it's a dance from the 1920's."

Sadie widened her eyes, shocked. "Whoa! They danced back then? That's ages ago!"

"Sadie, dancing was around ever since humans walked the Earth. You ready to learn the Charleston?"

Sadie excitedly nodded and ran over to the CD collection under the radio. "Daddy got some stuff from Grampa that were from the 1920's so we could use those!"

"Good." I nodded, shaking my arms and walking behind her.

I haven't danced the Charleston in a while, probably since the dance died out. Other dance moves came and gone, and I had other matters to deal with than be occupied with dancing. But now that I actually have a legitimate reason to do so, I might as well try it out one last time.

Once the music started, Sadie started bobbing her head left and right to the beat. She looked like a bird looking for worms. It was oddly funny, but I made her stop.

"The first thing is that this, you don't move your head like that. Just smile like you just, I dunno, ate the best ice cream sandwich ever."

"I love ice cream sandwiches!" she beamed, and I pointed to her mouth to show her that's exactly the smile she had to have.

"Kinda creepy but it'll do," I smirked, "Now start dancing how you think you should."

So she did. After a couple of lessons, she seemed to get the hang of it, just the basics of the Charleston. Sadie even added a bit of her own dance moves into it, which was a normal thing to do back in the day and probably even now. I don't know much of dancing, but I knew enough to help Sadie with her homework.

"Your legs are too stiff. Let them swing out, like you're kicking the dirty clothes off your floor." I said, showing her how to kick.

"Is that your way of telling me to clean my room?" Sadie said through pants as she danced faster, keeping up with me.

"Yes. It's filthy in there. Speed it up, child!"

And there she went like a bullet, as if she was a rabbit was on a running wheel. Her legs were a blur, dancing so fast her grin grew wider and she had to throw her arms everywhere so she would balance herself and not kick anything over like I was.

I heard the front door open and close, and then an amused snort. I looked up and immediately stopped, my face flushing at being caught dancing. Alice's amused smile made her eyes look bright, as if she witnessed the happiest and funniest moment ever. She put down her phone on the counter and then put her hands in her pockets, watching Sadie continue to dance like a maniac.

"Should I ask?" she questioned, raising a brow.

I grinned, willing to stop dancing and go over to her. I felt like a kid seeing her...which is a very strange emotion. I felt younger, and I didn't like having her be so far for a long time. She smiled wider as I enveloped her in a hug and kissed her forehead, touching my nose with hers.

"Homework." I murmured before kissing her nose.

"Seriously? That's quite an assignment." she laughed, touching my face lovingly.

"Hey, Alice! Watch this!" Sadie called, getting both of our attention.

While keeping her legs moving fast, she pulled them together like a vice and spun around twice, but had to spread her legs wide to stop herself and balance. Her wide eyes and spinning head clearly meant she got dizzy from that.

"Nice job, Sadie. Don't hurt yourself or make yourself sick. The last time you danced like that you knocked over the kitchen table." Alice rolled her eyes, heading towards the kitchen for a snack.

"She's a maniac." I chuckled, shaking my head.

Alice opened the door of the refrigerator and peered past the milk and orange juice bottles, hoping to find some mid afternoon snack. She leaned back up, a puzzled look written in her face as she said aloud, "That's funny. I don't remember making quiche."

I froze, hoping she wouldn't think it was me. When she looked at me I looked away back at Sadie to make sure she wasn't getting close to the television and accidentally smash it.

Later that night when Sadie was in her room playing with her dolls and puzzles, the radio still played, but it sang a song I haven't heard in many, many years.

La Vie En Rose.

It got Alice's attention, too. Her hips started swaying to the music as she finished washing dishes at the sink. I smiled and slowly came up behind her, wanting a dance. I heard her hum happily when I touched her shoulder and then held her hips, swaying with her. Her face turned towards mine, looking at peace.

"I find it odd how you know this." I murmured, turning her away from the sink and pulling her close.

"What, a girl like me can't enjoy the oldies?" she laughed softly, holding my shoulders.

There was a warm silence between us when we danced, eyes closed and enjoying each other's closeness. I could feel her light-as-a-feather breathing on my collar bone. Such pleasures like this should be cherished, for not everyone got to enjoy them like I have. All that longing and yearning was worth the wait, because it matched higher to what I thought it would feel like. It made my heart rate speed up and my fingers tingle. Is this what love feels like? All those books I read to pass the time in the lair were right?

"What are you thinking about?" her whispered question drew out in the stillness after the song ended.

I looked down at her, unable to say clear words. She gave a soft smile, waiting for a response.

I didn't think I would make it this far.

"I'm glad I have you." I smiled, and she blushed back with a goofy grin.